Atlantis Symphony
by ladygris
Summary: A woman new to Atlantis fascinates Maj. Lorne and Ronon even as she raises a few concerns from the rest of the crew. Formerly titled Atlantis Prelude. NOW COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Evan Lorne was not given to impulse, nor was he indecisive. Those particular traits appeared only when he contemplated the beauty surrounding him on Atlantis. During those times, he would spend hours studying the way the afternoon light glinted off of the main tower of the city before deciding to paint the sunset at the western pier.

He was, however, given to compassion. Perhaps that was why he ignored the thunder rumbling outside the cave as he settled next to the woman staring at the fire from a safe distance. They were all soaked to the skin, and Lorne sported a slight cut above his eyebrow, thanks to a careless scientist allowing a branch to snap back and into the face of the man teaching him what it meant to be off-world. Anna, the woman, was not the scientist. Since meeting her earlier that day, she'd been quiet. Observant. Distant. Part of him wondered why, and he wanted to make sure she didn't stay so distant as to deprive herself of the warmth the fire offered.

The training mission could have gone better. Lorne had gathered a group of new recruits in the Gate Room, ready to show these newbies how life survived without their computers and gadgets. These missions were the bane of every experienced team leader, and Lorne had drawn the short straw. This particular group of scientists had complained like most of them, but they had all endured somewhat gracefully. The cut over his eyebrow was simple carelessness and did not deserve his wrath. The rain, however, was fully deserving. Twenty-four hours into a three-day camping trip, the weather had changed suddenly. High winds had forced them to head toward the Stargate, but they hadn't made it before the skies opened with fury. Had he been alone, he might have admired the rain and water rushing past the opening of the cave. He wasn't alone, however, and most of the scientists looked shell-shocked.

Everyone except Anna. She was a geneticist from Earth assigned to work and live on Atlantis. Lorne knew her last name, of course, but he didn't press her for it. He hadn't read her file, but he'd asked around when he'd first seen her. Apparently, she was working in conjunction with Dr. Beckett and Dr. McKay on the Ancient gene. The fact that someone else had been brought in to work on the ATA gene ate at McKay, and Lorne's estimation of her grew just for that reason. Anna had come to Atlantis only a week ago, and her eyes held a weariness that most new people couldn't quite fathom. She watched everything around her warily, and she hadn't blinked an eye when she saw the two moons on this planet. Everything about the way she moved and acted spoke of greater experience than her time with the SGC should have given her. And she was aloof. She'd held herself apart from the others and kept her personal thoughts to herself. That, alone, intrigued Lorne. Most of these scientists wanted to brag about their accomplishments. Instead, she listened and didn't say a word. Lorne wondered why.

As he shed his tac vest and stretched his legs toward the fire, Anna finally moved. She pulled the long braid she'd worn down her back over her shoulder and proceeded to wring rainwater from it. Lorne watched from the corner of his eye, not wanting to be caught staring. Most women on Atlantis kept their hair short. Long hair past a woman's shoulderblades was unique. Anna's hair fell to her hips. It had to be a sight when it was dry and loose.

The artist in him considered different settings for displaying that hair while the soldier in him watched the activity around him. Most of the scientists had begun to complain, saying they were cold or hungry. Lorne pressed his lips together to keep from snapping at most of them and shook his head. These people weren't happy if they weren't surrounded by computers, technology, and a steady supply of food. After the rain let up, they would all be going home. But, judging by the river running past the cave opening, that would take a while.

"Okay, everyone." Lorne finally spoke when the grumbling increased. Eight sets of eyes swiveled his way. "We're going to bed down here until the rain passes. Try to make the best of it."

"But, Major, all of our supplies were back at the campsite." Zachary, a physicist in Rodney McKay's department, stared at him. "How are we supposed to stay warm and dry?"

Lorne shook his head again. McKay and Zachary would get along well. He pointed at the fire. "Warmth. You'll dry out eventually." That sparked another round of grumbling. He opened his mouth to reply, but Anna chose that moment to acknowledge the activity around her.

"Would all of you quit complaining!" She stood and glared at everyone except Lorne and his team. "It could be a lot worse than this." She turned her back to everyone, walking toward the cave's opening. Lorne had the feeling she'd rather be out in the pouring rain rather than standing in a confined space listening to complaints. He wanted to congratulate her for putting an end to this round of grumbling, but he didn't want to anger her any more than she was. She had the look of someone who had seen too much. Surprising for her age.

The rain went on for several more hours. By this time, Lorne, Anna, and all of his men looked ready to commit murder. Most everyone had dried out, and the two women in the group let their hair down. Lorne had watched Anna edge closer to the fire as others moved away. Her fingers deftly released her hair, and he took her place at the cave's opening. He wasn't impulsive by nature, but he wanted to run his hands through those dark waves. Earlier that day, the sun had caught her braid, making it look like spun copper. Now, it looked brown but was still so inviting. Attraction wasn't something he dealt with on a regular basis, but this mysterious woman with hidden issues drew him more than he cared to admit.

"Major Lorne, this is Colonel Sheppard." The crackle of the radio surprised everyone.

Lorne turned toward the cave's opening. "It's good to hear your voice, sir."

"I bet." Sheppard's voice held a slight chuckle. "You missed your scheduled check-in for today, and Dr. Weir sent us to investigate."

"I'm glad she did." He eyed the hopeful faces around the cave. "We're holed up in a cave about three clicks from the Gate. The rain and flash floods cut off our access to the Gate and destroyed the campsite."

"I can see that." The rain outside the cave wavered, and a Puddle Jumper materialized. Sheppard smiled from inside, looking warm and dry. "We're ready to get you all home."

A collective cheer went up from the scientists, led by Zachary, and a collective sigh sounded through Lorne and his team. He noticed that Anna looked neither relieved nor excited. She looked as if someone had just informed her that the sky was blue. Lorne turned back to the Jumper. "Well, sir, if you're offering a ride, we won't say no."

The group excitedly gathered their jackets and the packs they'd been able to rescue from the campsite as Sheppard deftly turned the Jumper around. The back hatch lowered, and Teyla stood next to the door. Blankets and hot coffee waited for them. Lorne stamped out the fire and made a final round of the cave before following Anna into the Jumper. She didn't flinch at the thought of hovering over empty space as she jumped, and she settled closest to the hatch. Lorne sat next to her in the only seat available, noticing how the other scientists avoided her.

What was it about this woman? That question circled in his head as Sheppard turned the Jumper toward the Stargate and home.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Back on Atlantis, Anna Travis endured the requisite physical examination. Dr. Beckett knew everything about her, as did Weir, and that made the exam so much easier. Beckett watched her, she noticed. But, most everyone watched her these days.

After debriefing, Anna returned to her room and slipped into a flowing sundress. The turquoise fabric fell to her feet, leaving her feeling like a princess. Then, she grabbed the guitar case that sat in the corner and left her room.

Times like back at the cave brought back too many memories. She'd not been in a natural cavern in nearly a year, and it had affected her. So had the other people she'd been stuck with. The military guys and their commander, Lorne, hadn't been that bad. They hadn't complained and bickered over every tiny development. The other scientists, however, had shunned her from the beginning. They preferred to compare notes on who had done the most good out of two galaxies. It didn't help that they spent the majority of the time in the cave bragging over one achievement or another. Part of her wondered just how she would endure the bragging and bickering here on Atlantis. She wasn't known for her diplomacy. Not anymore.

While the other planet had been dark and dreary, nearing nightfall by the time they left, the sun was still high in the sky here at Atlantis. Anna stepped onto a sun-drenched balcony and smiled. Warmth flooded her being, and she shook her hair from it's loose braid. It brushed her shoulders and caught the rays of the sunlight. The waves, put in it by the sudden drenching it had received, gave it a wildness that she'd always liked.

After taking a few minutes to let the sun warm her, she set the guitar case next to a wall and opened the top. The guitar, a Martin that had belonged to her grandmother, glowed in the sunlight in spite of the minute scratches that marred its surface. Anna picked it up, reveling in the utterly smooth feel and the woodsy smell of the spruce top. She ran her thumb over the strings, listening to each one. A few tiny adjustments to the tuning pegs in the headstock brought the strings into tune, and she gently strummed the strings. The mellow tones resonating through the guitar and vibrating against her body chased any tension from her shoulders as she played. Soon, she lost herself in the music. This, at least, hadn't been taken from her.

Anna wasn't sure how long she played. She allowed her fingers to find their place, creating melodies that no one had ever heard. Occasionally, she played a favorite piece, but this was her time. This was her way of releasing all of the guilt and anger she'd stored up inside of her. This was her way of forgetting that dark, damp cave that nearly destroyed her life a year ago.

The sun had barely set when she left the balcony. Her shoulders felt like they'd absorbed the sun's rays and glowed in the dim hallway. Anna knew that wasn't so, but it felt good. The weight of the guitar in her hand also comforted her. She received several appreciative glances from men as they passed her, but she ignored them all.

"Doc." The straightforward voice pulled her out of her musings. Major Lorne stood just outside the transporter that would take her to her room. His bemused expression concerned her on a personal level.

Her stoic mask slipped into place easily. "Major." She stopped, not sure what to do. "Thanks for today."

"Me?" He stepped into the transporter, leaving her with little choice but to follow him or be rude. "I didn't do that much."

Anna followed him into the tiny room, not really feeling like being rude. "You did enough." She didn't clarify-didn't want to. The fact that he'd chosen to ignore her aloof attitude and the way the others had shunned her had been a shot in the arm. But he didn't know how badly she had needed his presence beside her, and she preferred it that way. The fewer people that knew what had happened, the better. It was easier to forget that way. Still, she wanted him to know that he had done some good.

Lorne pressed the button that took them to crew quarters. He didn't say much, but she felt him near her anyway. He'd changed out of his wet clothes, but that didn't mean he didn't look great. Back in the cave, he'd been fascinating. Even with blood from his head wound running into the rainwater on his face, his blue eyes had been clear and direct. He'd kept her from panicking in that cave.

When the door to the transporter opened, he motioned for her to precede him. Once out of the tight place, she made sure to carry the guitar between them. He eyed it. "You play?"

"Yes." She smiled, content to keep the conversation on familiar turf. "This was my grandmother's. There was some grumbling when I had it shipped from earth, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to leave it at home."

Lorne seemed to accept that. He stopped when the main corridor intersected with another one. "Well, I'll be seeing you around."

"Thank you, Major." Anna kept her mask in place. As he walked away, she stared at him. She hadn't felt drawn to anyone at all in over a year. Since that fateful night in the cave, she'd sworn that she'd never let a man get that close again. Fortunately, she didn't know many men on Atlantis. Unfortunately, the one man she could say she knew had drawn her attention. One attractive, direct, and seemingly uninterested major had broken through the initial panic by being a calm presence when she'd needed it. Maybe, just maybe, she'd found a friend that could help her truly forget the past.

~TBC~


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1 or any of their affiliates. If I did, SGA, at least, would not have gone off the air. . .nor would Weir have been killed. Oh, well. . . . I am responsible for the character of Anna Travis, however.

**Author's Note**: I forgot to add all of this at the beginning of the last chapter, and I didn't remember until I saw it posted online. Sorry about that. This is a love story, focusing more on characters and less on action. There will be some action scenes, they're just not my favorite part of the story. And, as this is a WIP, I will need to take time to plot things out. So, please be patient with me. And, if you like it, review, REVIEW, _REVIEW_! On with the story! ~lg

SGA SGA SGA SGA

_The first time she visited a cave, she'd been about eight and had gone to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. That day with her parents was idyllic. When she got scared, her dad hoisted her up onto his shoulders and held her close. Once down in the caverns, the formations and lights ignited her imagination._

_She didn't visit another cave until she met Jim Barringer. He was everything she wasn't: rich, powerful, somewhat arrogant with a soft side. He often said she brought out the best in him, and she liked to believe it. Jim liked danger. He rappelled, skied, hiked, spelunked, and once jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Although she worked for the SGC, she didn't tell him what she did. It was that way. They didn't talk about how his family made its money, and they never mentioned her job. Because her job made her nervous._

_When Jim asked her to go spelunking with him, she was thrilled. They had hiked a few trails and often jogged through the park near her home. But they'd never been away from civilization for more than a day. Her little-girl mind dreamed up the fanciful fairies she'd imagined in Carlsbad Caverns as they drove out of Colorado Springs. Maybe today would be the day that Jim would make her his. Maybe, just maybe, he'd declare his undying love._

_The trip to the caverns passed swiftly. She remembered little of it. Wrapped in his presence, she willed away her concerns for their future together. After all, once they finalized plans, she would ask permission to tell him about the Stargate and the number of bad guys the galaxy really had. But these moments were for her._

_At the caverns, Jim made sure to get her pack situated just right. He'd packed for them, and she wondered if she'd be able to carry that pack all day. But, that night promised to be worth all of the effort. The hike to the cave was relatively short, and Jim grinned at her as he disappeared into the darkness. She flipped on a flashlight and hesitantly stepped inside._

_Jim called her deeper into the cave. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she was that the cavern was rather small. No tunnels led away from the entrance. As she turned to look around, Jim moved close to her and started to press her into the wall. A hand came up to block her escape. When she protested, he kissed her. Hard. She felt tears rise to her eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be gentle, taking what she offered and not demanding more. Just as those thoughts crossed her mind, Jim deepened the kiss, and she heard a strange sound. Before she could react, blinding white pain clouded her vision, and she slid to the ground._

Anna woke, breathless and covered in sweat. Her eyes focused slowly. She was in her own bed, on Atlantis. She hadn't dreamed of that day in months. She pushed off the covers, wishing she could shed the stifling memories so easily, and stood. The sky had begun to lighten, and dawn was about an hour away. A run had always worked in the past. It gave her a way to burn off the angry energy before beginning the delicate work her position here on Atlantis required. She dressed quickly, slipped into her running shoes, and left her room.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

The sunrise was breathtaking. Lorne slowed his jog to a walk as he caught sight of the clouds that the sun had gilded with brilliant orange. He would have stopped, but he noticed another person on the walkway, a woman this time. Rather than interrupt, he looked to see if anyone else had joined them for what promised to be a spectacular start for the day. No one had.

Lorne turned back to the sunrise as he walked toward the woman. It was Anna, the geneticist who had intrigued him yesterday. She'd smoothed her hair into a bun, but the Lantean breeze tugged wisps of it across her face and into her eyes. She lifted a long-fingered hand and elegantly brushed them away. Lorne hesitated. Something in her brown eyes had hinted at a dark past yesterday, and he didn't want to startle her. He stopped, pretending to tie his shoe and hoping that the she would notice him.

"Major." Anna's voice was warm today, so different from the strain or the exhaustion he'd heard yesterday. He looked up as she offered him a small smile. "Care to join me?"

"Love to." He walked to the railing where she stood and leaned his elbows on it, content to share the moment with someone else. This particular running track was popular because it circled Atlantis' main tower in a circuitous manner, even leading to some catwalks such as this one. The stairs it contained made it perfect for cross-country training and the daily run.

Now that he stood next to her, Lorne could see the tension in Anna's face. Her eyebrows lowered ever so slightly, and her jaw clenched. He hoped he hadn't frightened her. She didn't seem to frighten easily, but one never knew.

Anna drew in a deep breath of sea-scented air. "I wish I could paint." She missed his startled glance. "If I could, I would try to paint ever moment of peace into the picture so that I could take it everywhere with me."

_That can be arranged_, he wanted to say. Instead, he nodded. "I hear you." As the sun broke through the clouds and touched their perch with one warm sunbeam, he studied her. "Were you out for a run?"

"I was, but I saw the sunrise and had to watch."

Lorne smiled again, this time gently and with no intentions other than to make her feel comfortable. "Care to join me?"

She eyed him, and a grin touched her face. "Love to."

With that, he took off around the track. As he jogged, Anna followed. The hard part of the track was coming, but she enjoyed being with someone else. At home, she'd jogged with Jim, and that had ended abruptly in the cave. Even though she still jogged after that, it wasn't the same. Her daily run on Atlantis had been rather lonely. She had nearly invested in a treadmill to keep herself from going crazy.

Major Lorne wasn't like most people. Anna appreciated his quiet calm. Most men would have pressed her for more information. It had happened before. Instead of pressing her about why she wanted the peace of the moment bottled into a painting, he offered to join her for a run. She liked the way he skipped over the emotional and went straight to the practical. She needed that. She needed someone who wouldn't ask about her past every time they were together.

Later that evening, Anna walked into the mess hall and looked around. Most of the tables were empty, and she sighed. It was going to be a lonely night, one that she didn't necessarily want. She wasn't ready for a constant relationship, but a friend would be nice. By now, the mistrust of the scientists from Earth had spread to the others here on Atlantis, and most of them spoke to her only when they needed something. Maybe she should just carry her tray back to her lab and start working again. That would be easier.

"Dr. Travis." The friendly woman's voice pulled her head up. A dark-skinned woman with reddish-brown hair motioned to her. "Please. Come join us."

Anna changed direction even as she eyed the massive man next to her. This must be the Ronon she'd heard so much about. Not that any of the other women would confide in her. But they gossiped a lot, and most of them had a weakness for this man's green eyes and barbaric look. Anna chose not to concentrate on him as she slid into the chair. He wasn't as intimidating as others led her to believe. But, then, very little could intimidate her anymore. "Thank you." She smiled at the two. "I wasn't looking forward to a lonely dinner."

"You are welcome to join us any time." The woman smiled. "I am Teyla Emmagen, and this is Ronon Dex."

"Anna Travis, but you already knew that." She shook their hands.

Ronon shifted in his seat. "Yeah, McKay's not too happy with you being here."

"Ronon," Teyla said sternly.

Anna grinned. "I know. Isn't it great?"

Ronon returned the grin. "I like you." Unfortunately, his words dampened her spirits, but she didn't let on. She couldn't afford to let anyone, not even the barbaric alien from another galaxy, too close. People close to her got hurt. Or worse.

Teyla turned back to Anna. "Rodney tells us you're here to work with the gene of the Ancestors."

"I am." Anna fell easily into the topic, grateful that she wouldn't be required to make small talk. "It was part of my work back on Earth, and I came here to be closer to the Ancient database. So far, I haven't discovered anything, but scientists on earth believe that the ATA gene is something that everyone could have, not just a few. My role is to study the ATA gene and figure out why only some people are able to receive it. Then, if I am able to do that, I am supposed to create a work-around in the gene therapy."

"Sounds complicated." Ronon stood. "Um, it was nice to meet you." He walked away without a backwards glance. Anna went back to her meal, understanding why so many women on the base would find him attractive. Those green eyes and mysterious attitude acted like a woman magnet.

Teyla pulled Ronon's chair close and propped up her feet. "How are you finding your time here in Atlantis?"

Anna considered that one. "Different." She considered her next comment. "As far as Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy are concerned, it's not much different from home-except that we're on a floating city on a planet that is primarily water. But, as far as the people, I still don't know." She didn't mention how Lorne was the only other person on the base to even make her feel welcome.

Teyla commented, and Anna allowed her to lead the conversation. Nothing of great import was discussed, but she felt as if she'd found a friend. Teyla didn't press her, and Anna appreciated that. It reminded her of Lorne's way of dealing with her silences. Perhaps in time, she would explain the nightmare that still followed her. As she walked back to her quarters, she shook her head. Perhaps, in time, she'd be able to make sense of the nightmare that had gripped her life.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

As Anna talked with Teyla, Lorne sat unnoticed in a corner. He had watched her appear and saw the despair that covered her face. How could one woman have so much sadness? He knew that life, especially life on an alien planet, could cause depression. Heck, he'd fought with it himself. But the depth of Anna's despair wasn't caused by her separation from Earth. If anything, the despair was what brought her from Earth.

Lorne's eyes went back to the sketch pad in front of him. He'd been sketching his memories of that morning, trying to do something to get Anna off his mind. He shook his head. What was it about that woman? Her comment about bottling the peace she'd felt while watching the sunset stuck with him, and he spent the day considering whether or not to paint the scene. Now, as he stared at the sketch, he knew he would likely never paint that picture. Anna had chosen to reveal something about herself, and he couldn't betray that trust.

Flipping to a new page in his sketch book, he picked up his soft lead pencil and began to sketch. His hand moved quickly, and he smiled at the outcome. Perhaps, one day, he'd get to finish this sketch. Until then, he decided to be a friend to a woman who clearly had more troubles than she wanted the world to know.

~TBC~


	3. Chapter 3

_The cave was only the beginning. She struggled against her bonds, knowing that she couldn't break free. Still, she tried. The life of her closest friend depended on her. She tried to scream, but it never made it out of her mouth. How could they stop her from screaming? It wasn't right._

_Marie had nothing to do with her work for the SGC. Nothing! No matter how hard she tried to tell them, they didn't listen. They pushed Marie into the room with her and bound her to a chair. Marie whimpered as the zip ties cut into her wrists, but they didn't care. No one cared anymore._

_The questions began shortly after they bound Marie. What did she know about the Stargate? "The what?" Marie asked. When she didn't give them the answer they wanted, they hit her. No matter how many times Marie told them she didn't understand, they still found a way to torture her._

_She watched as her closest friend sat in the chair, bleeding and unconscious. So close. She was so close to freeing her if she could only break out of the chains that kept her bound. If she could only escape from her tormentors, she could rescue her friend. Then, maybe they could disappear from this planet altogether._

_But she didn't break free. They discovered what she was doing and made sure she was firmly in their control. Then, they tortured Marie until her weakened body could no longer handle the pain. As Marie died, she stared at her closest friend's broken body and wept. No one heard her._

Anna jerked awake, the slight breeze from Atlantis' cooling systems brushing across her face. She sat up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and stood. Marie had died too young.

Anna shook herself from the thought and checked her watch. Dawn was still four hours away, and she refused to wake anyone. She didn't need to talk anyway. She needed to run, to work, to escape from the agony that haunted her. She could always go to the lab, but that required a nighttime walk around the city. Atlantis was beautiful, but too many shadows lurked in her mind for her to be comfortable with the shadows around the city. Unhappy with every option, Anna sat in a chair near the window and pulled her knees to her chest. She stayed there until the sky began to lighten.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

The sunrise looked to be a beauty. Lorne stretched as he waited, hoping for company. He hadn't made the offer to Anna yesterday, but he wanted to see if she'd join him again. She was too withdrawn for his tastes, and he wondered if she suffered from severe shyness. No, that couldn't be the issue. Shy people didn't have that haunted look that crossed her face every so often.

Footsteps on the catwalk pulled him out of his thoughts, and he smiled as Anna walked toward him. Her face was haggard, and her eyes looked like she hadn't slept at all. He kept the smile in place as she stretched and prepared for the run. "Mornin'."

"Morning." Anna barely glanced at him, and he frowned. Her face was pale, making the circles under her eyes even darker.

Rather than leading the way like he had yesterday, Lorne let Anna set the pace. He'd been raised to be a gentleman, and he wanted to know if she was merely tired or running from memories. Based on her speed, the latter. She ran the track like a woman determined to put distance between whatever had caused those dark circles. When they finished, he offered to meet her at the same place the next morning. She said she'd think about it and left him alone. He stayed where he was, needing time to think.

Lorne's eyes went back to the horizon. He wasn't one to think too deeply on relationships. Most of his friendships here on Atlantis were with military personnel. As the second-in-command to John Sheppard, he had a surprising bit of freedom to go with the sometimes overwhelming responsibilities. He couldn't afford to let anything more than friendship and trust develop. It distracted him. So, why was he so enamored with Anna Travis? What was it about her that drew his attention like bees to honey?

The answer did not appear, and Lorne left the catwalk to shower and dress for the day. His team had been given two days of down-time, and he'd ordered them to catch up on their reports. He took his own orders to heart and settled at his desk, Anna and her past forgotten. He barely remembered to grab a sandwich for lunch as he plowed through the stacks of paper on his desk.

After work, he went to the gym for some time with the guys. His team normally met him there, but he was pleasantly surprised to see Colonel Sheppard just arriving. Ronin was nowhere around, so he grinned at the colonel. "Sir."

"Major." Sheppard watched as he stretched his shoulders and back. "You up for some competition?"

"If you like getting your butt handed to you." The banter was common among the men as they tried to talk the other into surrender.

"Oh, I think I'll be just fine." Sheppard bounced on the balls of his feet as they squared off. In truth, Lorne figured he'd wind up on the floor before the night was over. Sheppard routinely sparred with Teyla and Ronin, and those two members of Gate Team 1 were undefeated in the ring.

Sheppard lunged, and Lorne ducked. For the next hour, they circled each other, both taking and giving blows. Neither man minded the bruises this would cause. Lorne absently noted that Ronin had appeared and was watching from the corner. That moment of distraction cost him, and he landed in a heap as Sheppard took him down.

He coughed as his breath left him on impact. Sheppard stood over him, holding out a hand. "Sorry 'bout that."

"No problem, Sir." Lorne let the colonel pull him to his feet. "I should have seen it coming."

After catching his breath, he left the two men alone and headed for his quarters. His path took him down a hall out of the ordinary, though not unfamiliar. As he walked, he heard piano music. Lorne cocked his head, following the sound. It led him to a closed door not far from most of his team's quarters. He stood and listened. The music was loud, and the person obviously needed to drown out sound. Why else turn the CD player up so high?

The music stopped in the middle of the song, and Lorne frowned. A moment later, it started back up again, this time with missed notes. He blinked. Someone on Atlantis played piano? With new appreciation, he listened for a few more minutes, noticing that others did the same. The haunting melody reminded him of something he'd heard, and he had reached his quarters before he remembered the song. His sister had played the same song, albeit not as well, when she was learning piano years ago. It was by Beethoven. . . "Moonlight Sonata."

When he couldn't get the song out of his head after a hot shower, Lorne opened his computer and connected to the city's version of the Internet. Most of the information there was scientific or military in nature, but someone had taken hours to painstakingly upload a plethora of entertainment. He easily found the "Moonlight Sonata" and set it to play again. As he listened, he stood beside the window.

There was something peaceful about the way the moonlight glinted off the water behind several small spires of Atlantis. Lorne stared out the window, his artist's eye seeing the beauty before him. Rather than climbing into bed, which he knew he should do, he found the canvas he'd prepared for the next day. His easel and paints took very little time to set up, and he lit a lamp and darkened the rest of the room. Once the atmosphere had been set, he picked up a charcoal pencil and began to sketch.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Anna let her hands fall from the keyboard of the electronic piano and sat back. She was so tired. Her eyes burned, and she wanted to fall asleep where she sat. But she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Marie's face and felt the helplessness and pain again.

She jumped up from the piano, nervous energy replacing the exhaustion. Hadn't she come to Atlantis to escape from these memories? Why were they coming up now? She knew the answer to that. The cave had stirred them, and Major Lorne had inadvertently added to them. The last friend she'd ever had was killed before her eyes. That messed with a person's mind.

"I need to talk to someone," she muttered as she dressed again. Her civilian clothes, as she liked to call them, were easy to find, and she left her quarters for the halls of Atlantis. As she walked, she felt the stares of men and women on her. What was she thinking? Who in this great city so far away from any semblance of home would understand what she went through every night when she went to bed? While they lived and worked in a different galaxy, she'd been held hostage and tortured in ways that broke even the strongest men. She could still hear their voices in her mind. _You're nothing, cattle, a piece of property._ Those words brought tears to her eyes, and she found a chair next to a wall.

Dropping into the chair, Anna leaned her head back and sighed. She couldn't go on like this. She needed sleep. She needed someone to talk to. She needed peace.

"Hey." The abrupt greeting had a soft edge to it.

Anna opened her eyes, struggling with how they tried to roll back into her head, and stared at Ronon. "Hi."

He sat on the edge of the chair next to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." The lie slipped out too easily. Anna looked at him and realized he saw right through it. "Sorry. Habit."

He accepted her apology with a nod before bracing his elbows on his knees. "Look, I don't know you, but I know that expression. You're not the only one around here with a past."

_But how many have a past like mine?_ She wanted to ask the question, but something else came out of her mouth. "Like you?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Like me."

For the first time, Anna realized what the other women of Atlantis saw in Ronon. He came across as a dangerous barbarian, but his eyes softened when he allowed them. She quickly came to understand that this man adopted family, and then he protected that family with his life. She smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm tired, and I had no right to snap at you like that."

Ronon shrugged. "I'm fine. You're not."

She hated that he pointed out the obvious. "I know."

"Look, let's get you back to your quarters. If you can't sleep, you can call me. I'll be up for a while." He stood and touched her shoulder as she rose. Then, he walked beside her all the way to her quarters. Anna tried not to smile as she realized that the women around Atlantis would likely be buzzing about the two of them within twenty-four hours. She didn't care. His gruff way of showing that he cared was what she'd needed. In her room, she slipped back into her night clothes and crawled under the covers. Rather than seeing Marie's face, she drifted to sleep with Ronin's green eyes smiling at her.

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I decided to make things interesting with this scene. At this point in time, the story could go one of two ways. Which one will it be? Review and let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**__This chapter contains a brief mention of violence against women. I have tried to keep it tame, but it is still there. It was necessary for the story. Also, I will be out of town from 6-20-10 to 6-27-10. I might be able to post, but I'm not sure. So, if you don't hear from this story for a week, you know what happened. Enjoy, review, and see you when I get home. ~lg

SGA SGA SGA SGA

_They pushed her into a room of opulence. Decorated with draped red fabric, it resembled the palace of a Bedouin sheik. After placing her in the room, they dressed her in long wraps of gauzy red. The bed, which sat at the center, was covered in pure white while red rose petals floated from the fabric above it. She knew why they brought her here. But she couldn't fight them. They didn't release her enough to allow her to fight. Instead, they forced the horribly revealing clothing onto her body and placed bracelets around her wrists so that they jingled when she moved. Then, as a final touch, they covered her face with a barely-there veil._

_The man that came after that clearly appreciated the finery around him. Dressed in an expensive tailored suit, he leered at her and headed her way. She tried to move back, tried to cover herself, but he still approached. Taking her head in his hands, he ripped the veil from her face and kissed her. Hard. She struggled with everything in her, knowing that this was only the beginning. If she didn't break free, she would find more heartbreak than she could face. But the man kept her face in his hands, and she couldn't move. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to stop what happened next._

Anna sat upright in bed, frantically pushing the covers from her body as she fought against the memories. Why would that one have to appear now? It had been three days since the last nightmare. Three blissful days of productive work and restful sleep. At first, she'd thought that her conversation with Ronon had done the trick. After all, someone else knew what it was like to have a past haunt him. Her peace, however, was short-lived.

As she reached full awareness, she understood why she remembered that incident. Just the day before, she overheard two coworkers discussing a relationship one was having with the leader of a Gate Team. She didn't hear enough to know which team or names, having entered the room too late. But she did hear enough to make her blush. No one on Atlantis needed to know _that_ much about the woman's personal life. Anna had reflected that she hadn't blushed in a long time, and she tried to tune out the conversation. But the women weren't done. They went on to discuss every detail of the night, every word _and_ action. By the time Anna left the room, she considered herself well-versed in what a passionate night should be.

As the sun rose, she dressed and headed out for her run. Major Lorne met her every morning now. Anna appreciated him more than he knew. For one, he allowed her to set the pace rather than slowing his pace for her. And he never asked questions. No matter how rough she appeared after a nightmare, he always just ran. That kind of companionship meant so much to her.

This morning was no different. Lorne waited for her, stretching and watching the sunrise. Anna tried to smile, knowing that any other woman would be thrilled to be in her shoes. She had heard them talking about Lorne when they thought no one listened. But the smile didn't quite make it to her lips, much less her eyes. She knew he saw, but he clamped down on his comment. Instead, he pointed to the path in front of him. "Ready?"

"Yes." Anna took the lead and set a pace that wasn't too easy for him but would not wear her out. As they ran, she mused that she didn't quite know what she would do when they were no longer able to run in the mornings.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

"Major." Sheppard's voice caught Lorne as he turned toward the gym.

"Sir?" He slowed his pace as his CO joined him.

"Remember Jeneb?"

"How could I forget?" Lorne grinned slightly. "You weren't here when I got back, and I had to try to track you down."

"Yeah. I remember." Sheppard rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, what do you remember about Jeneb?"

"Closed society." Lorne shrugged. "There really wasn't too much to know. Very much like the Athosians, just not as open to friendships from other worlds. Friendly and polite, though."

"Well, it seems they've stopped being friendly and polite."

Lorne stopped in the hallway. "And this concerns us how?"

"Teyla just heard from one of her contacts," Sheppard said. "They say that their town leader went to Jeneb to try to negotiate. It seems that Jeneb sent 'emissaries' through to this town, and those emissaries were less than courteous. Now, their leader is on Jeneb, and the town can't make contact with him."

"And you want me to check it out because I've been there before." Lorne finally put the pieces together. "Sir, I went to Jeneb years ago, and I stayed only long enough for them to say 'No, thank you' to our offer of trade."

Sheppard shrugged and resumed walking. "I just thought it would come better from a familiar face."

Lorne would have made a smart-aleck comment, but they passed one of the rooms Teyla used to meditate. As they did, music came pouring out and down the corridor. Mariachi music, to be more precise. Lorne and Sheppard both stopped and peered around the corner. Anna Travis sat on a low bench, her feet tucked under the flowing skirt of a golden yellow dress. Her fingers danced up and down the fret board of an acoustic guitar while a group of Athosians, Teyla included, listened appreciatively.

Lorne stared, caught off guard by this version of his running partner. Whenever Anna appeared in the mornings, she often looked tired and sad. Now, she was. . . . Beautiful was the only word that came to mind. The high necked dress left her shoulders and arms bare, and her hair flowed around them. Her suntanned skin offset her brown hair and dark eyes to perfection and made the dress seem even brighter. Lorne's surprise came from more than her appearance, however. She played the guitar as if she was the only person in the room. Her face had shed all of the exhaustion and sadness he'd seen since that day in the cave. For the first time in a very long time, attraction stirred in him.

Sheppard glanced at Lorne and buried a grin. The man stared as if he'd never seen a woman before. Not that he wasn't right to stare. Dr. Travis was clearly in her element, and she was a beautiful woman. Sheppard noticed that the moment he rounded the corner, but the expression on his second-in-command's face kept him from thinking about Anna any further than that. He'd never seen Lorne look so smitten.

Anna finished the song with a flourish, and the two men left the doorway before anyone noticed their presence. Sheppard waited, content to allow Lorne to break the silence. Watching the unflappable major work out the implications of his reaction amused Sheppard.

Finally, Lorne glanced at him. "You were saying, Sir?"

Sheppard allowed his grin to escape. Lorne wasn't usually so distracted. "I'd like you to head to Jeneb. First thing tomorrow. I would go, but. . . ."

"Understood, Sir." Lorne kept walking, but Sheppard went his own way. He knew the issue at Jeneb would be handled, and he was hungry. In the mess hall, he found Ronon and Rodney already eating at their normal table. He filled a tray and joined them, willing to let the two bicker like brothers.

Twenty minutes later, Teyla and Anna made their way into the mess hall. The two women laughed and chatted as they filled their trays and made their way to the table. Anna still wore that yellow dress, and Sheppard buried another grin as Ronon straightened suddenly. It seemed that Lorne had some competition. For her part, Anna appeared oblivious.

Teyla spoke before any of the men could say anything. "Dr. Travis is quite a skilled musician."

Anna blushed. "Not really. I've just been playing for a long time."

Sheppard decided to pretend oblivion. "Playing what?"

"Guitar, mostly." Anna picked up her fork and took a bite of the salad that had been served that day. "I like the classics and writing my own music."

Teyla's eyes grew round. "You _wrote_ that music? I've never heard anything like it."

"Most of it." Anna glanced around the table and caught their expressions. "What did I do?"

Rodney decided to speak then. "Do? Nothing. Sheppard just doesn't know when to stop staring at beautiful women."

Sheppard wanted to strangle him. "What he means to say is that you look very nice tonight."

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "How are you doing, by the way?"

Anna set down her fork, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation turned. "Fine."

Teyla rescued her. "What did you call that? Mari. . . . ?"

"Mariachi." Anna settled back in her chair. "It's from a country on Earth called Mexico. Most of the music has a romantic theme."

Ronon frowned. "Don't you have one of these guitars, Sheppard?"

"I do." John glanced around. "But I don't play like that." He motioned toward Anna.

"You don't play at all," Ronon replied.

Teyla ate a few bites. "You really should hear her play. It is quite impressive."

"Hmm, yes, I'm sure it is." McKay had just dismissed the subject entirely.

Ronon eyed Anna. "I'd like to hear it sometime."

"Maybe later." Anna fell silent after that, content to be present at the table while they talked about work. Sheppard watched her, seeing how she listened closely. He wanted to grin every time Ronon looked at her. He'd seen that expression on Lorne's face earlier that day. It would be fun to watch those two compete for the same woman.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Light years away, a man stood at his window and looked out on his palace. He was almost ready. Here, on this planet so rich that the peasants didn't even understand what they had, he would build his empire. Here, he would base every thing he would accomplish in this galaxy. Civilizations would fall, and he would become their king. Their god. His eyes glowed with the perverse pleasure of it all.

~TBC~


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I'm back! I just spent four days at church camp with around 400 kids-teens and younger. I was head dorm mom, so you know where my mind is at. Or rather, isn't. I wondered if I'd gone crazy by the end of the four days. After that, we had three days as a family to kick back and just hang out. So, I'm pretty rested.

As for Chapter Five of Atlantis Prelude, here it is. I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think. ~lg

SGA SGA SGA SGA

_They put her in a coffin. That's not what they called it, but she knew better. At first, she fought with all her might to get out. She hated closed spaces. Then, the more they put her in there, the more she realized that she was free. In spite of the fact that she couldn't really move, she found a way. Her mind roamed, and she visited family. It was torture, but she refused to stop. If she maintained her freedom this way, then perhaps she'd find the strength to break free._

Anna woke and stared at the clock. Barely three hours since she went to sleep. She sighed, threw back the covers, and sat up. Three hours wasn't enough time to truly rest. Tonight, she'd stopped the nightmare before it began, but she knew she couldn't do that every time. When exhaustion finally took over, she would endure the pain again.

She rose, nervous energy driving her to the window. The old adage said that there was no rest for the wicked. What about the tortured? Didn't the tortured deserve rest and recovery? Her body had recovered nicely, but her mind still wandered the paths of captivity.

"You're becoming maudlin," Anna muttered as she turned from the window. The clock said it was still too early to go to work, and she would have to do without a run this morning. Major Lorne had a mission, and he was scheduled to leave any time. She eyed her running shoes. In spite of running with a partner, she'd always found peace and some sort of way to get through the day. Maybe it would work even if Lorne wasn't there.

Decision made, Anna dressed and strapped on her running shoes. She stretched in her quarters and headed out to the track they used daily. As she began at a slow jog, she reflected on how she'd met Lorne and how well she knew him. She didn't know him, she realized. He was as much a mystery to her as he was the day he sat beside her in the cave. He was just a little less intimidating. Men like Ronon were easy to understand. Men like Lorne usually had depths that very few people saw.

Anna stopped running and stared out over Atlantis. The city was truly beautiful. She had come here to work and to forget her past. Yet, she wasn't able to forget it. Somehow, she was still stuck in the terror of the memories. Lorne always made them go away with his quiet greeting and silent ways. He didn't fill the time with unnecessary chatter. Anna liked that. She liked the way he understood when she didn't want to talk.

She stayed at her position, watching the sun come up. When her clock said it was time, she returned to her quarters and prepared for the day. Perhaps she'd be able to get something accomplished. If not, McKay and others would wonder why she'd even come to Atlantis.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne stood in the control room, staring at the puddle in the middle of the Stargate. A MALP had just ceased broadcasting. That meant only one thing. Somehow, the people on the other side of the gate had found a way to destroy it without revealing their identity. They had most likely buried the Stargate. Lorne frowned. That wasn't a Wraith tactic.

Weir gave the order to shut down the Stargate and looked at him. "Major?"

"Dial the gate for Teyla's contact." He glared at nothing in particular. "I want to know what's going on."

Chuck began dialing, and Lorne assembled his team. Several moments later, they emerged on a planet with tall trees, blue skies, and several peasants staring at them. One man stepped forward. "People from Atlantis!" He dropped the crude weapon he held and bowed suddenly. "Welcome."

"Ah, thank you." Lorne noticed that his team also had an uncomfortable look on their faces. "We're here about Jeneb."

The man straightened. "I am the one you want to speak to. I am Amaan."

"Lorne."

"I apologize for the greeting, but we are still unsure what to do about Jeneb. Every man we send through the ring of the Ancestors does not return." He shrugged helplessly. "I do not know how many more men I can spare."

"I wouldn't send any more." Lorne glanced around, deliberately meeting the eyes of the men with Amaan. "The Jeneb gate is most likely buried. I'm sorry, but your men never even made it to the other side."

The group of peasants fell silent briefly. Then, Amaan straightened. "But you can help?"

"We can try," Lorne replied. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"

"Some months ago, Jeneb began sending emissaries through the gate. They were demanding and rude, talking to our leader as if he were nothing but a servant to them. Then, when they committed an offence, our leader went through the ring to negotiate for peaceful trade rather than angry words. He has not returned." Amaan glanced at the gate. "If what you say is true, he may not return."

"We don't know that yet." Lorne tried to appear sympathetic. "Right now, we're gathering intel-information-so that we can hopefully help you a little better."

"One other thing." Amaan followed Lorne as he headed for the village. "The people of Jeneb once revered the Ancestors. Now, they scorn them and refuse to acknowledge their power. Please. Help us find our leader and learn the nature of this change."

Lorne nodded without committing. He spent several hours in the village, talking to the villagers before returning to the gate. They all said the same thing. Jeneb's once peaceful relations had ceased. As he returned to the gate, he sighed. After returning to Atlantis, he briefed Weir on the information he'd received. Hours passed in that meeting as Weir, Sheppard, and Lorne hashed out the possibilities and the exact actions the Atlantis expedition could take.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Anna sat back from the computer and frowned. Genetics was not an easy science to learn, and it required a lot of patience. Right now, she didn't have that sort of patience. The DNA on the screen mystified her. She'd taken samples from Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and Ronon. Sheppard had the ATA gene naturally, and McKay had received the gene therapy. Ronon was out of luck. The three men had endured many of the same things, however, and their DNA was about as similar as they were. Which is to say, not at all. Still, they were all human, and their DNA reflected that. But she still wasn't able to unlock the secrets of the ATA gene and its interactions with the human genome.

The door to the lab swished open, and Anna glanced up as Ronon walked in. She blinked at him and then buried a grin at one of the other women in the room. This woman clearly had a thing for Ronon, and she had instinctively straightened her hair before pulling the zipper on her jacket down to revealing levels. For his part, Ronon never noticed her and headed straight for Anna. "Hey."

"Hi." Anna stared at the computer screen, wondering how she'd ever concentrate with all the ears in the room.

"Got a minute?"

"Sure." She knew rumors would be flying by the end of the day, but she didn't care as she followed him from the lab. They walked a few steps from the door before she faced him. "What's going on?"

Ronon shifted on his feet and cleared his throat. "I just wanted to see how you're doing." He motioned toward her. "With the nightmares and all."

Anna nodded. "Okay." She met his eyes and decided to be honest. "Some days are better than others. How do you deal with them?"

"I fight." He shrugged. "If it distracts me, I put it from my mind. If it feeds my anger, I let it."

"I'm not that way." She shook her head. "I can't let it feed my anger. I did that once, and it nearly destroyed me. I just want to forget."

"How do you deal with them?"

"Music, mostly." It was her turn to shrug. "I just play until I'm so tired I can't see straight. But that only works about half the time. I also run in the mornings. It helps some."

Ronon got a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "When are you going to play again?"

Anna didn't try to stop the grin. This big barbarian had just revealed the reason for his visit to her lab. The concern for the nightmares was touching, but the music was the reason. "I'll be in the meditation room Teyla uses this evening before dinner."

Ronon went his way a few minutes later, and Anna returned to her work. She felt the eyes of the other women on her, but she didn't comment. They had never been interested in her life before this moment, and she refused to acknowledge their interest now that they knew Ronon was a friend.

As she stared at the DNA profiles on the screen, she considered her actions. Music had always been an escape for her. Was she right in performing for others? Should she encourage Ronon? These questions made it difficult for her to focus through the rest of the day.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

That evening, Lorne left his office and turned toward his quarters. He was hungry, tired, and fighting a developing headache. After-mission reports were as exciting as a visit to the dentist, but he'd decided to get this one done right away. Sheppard and Weir agreed that more investigation was needed, and various teams had been coordinated. Now, Lorne just wanted to forget all the paperwork.

Anna was playing guitar again. Lorne stopped when he heard the strains of a ballad coming down the corridor. Did he go take a shower or go listen to her music? His feet turned toward the music, and he figured he'd slip inside the room as she played. She was as riveting tonight as she'd been last night. This time, she wore a dark red halter-top dress. It gathered on the floor at her feet in folds, and Lorne reflected that no other woman on Atlantis wore this style of clothing. It was refreshing. Just as he would have slipped into the room, he caught sight of Ronon leaning against the wall, listening intently. The big Satedan's eyes never left Anna's face, and he smiled slightly.

Lorne blinked. So he wasn't the only one intrigued by this musical side that Anna so willingly revealed. It shouldn't have surprised him, but it did. He stood at the door, hoping Ronon had not seen him, and watched Anna while trying to keep his thoughts from his face. What was _Anna's_ opinion of Ronon? Was she even aware? How could she not be aware? Most women on Atlantis paid close attention to the men around them. Lorne wasn't given to gossip, but he knew the civilian women often distracted themselves from work by spreading the word of who spent time with whom. He'd heard enough rumors about Sheppard to know the grapevine remained extremely active.

Anna finished the song and began a new one, this time with a slow, haunted melody. Lorne backed out of the doorway and headed toward his quarters. Ronon was clearly smitten. Since the Satedan had joined Atlantis, he had not shown interest in any of the women. Lorne wondered if he should step back where Anna was concerned. _Step back from what?_ he wondered. He and Anna had no relationship beyond the time they spent running in the mornings. While he wondered why she didn't sleep, he never asked. Their distant friendship didn't depend on it.

Later that evening, he went to the mess hall and saw Anna sitting with Sheppard's team. McKay even looked comfortable with her. The table burst into laughter, and Lorne stared at Anna. She seemed happy. Why didn't that make him feel better?

~TBC~


	6. Chapter 6

_At first, they allowed her to play the piano and guitar. It was her escape. When the music flowed over her, she found freedom. Her mind roamed the world, taking in sights she could only imagine before. Then, she discovered that the music changed. It was no longer just what she knew, but she managed to learn what _they_ knew. The strength that came with that intoxicated her._

_Then, they realized what she'd done. The power that she gained from music stopped immediately. The next time she picked up the guitar, pain ripped through her neck, down her spine, and spread into ever portion of her body. It immobilized her and stayed with her for days afterward. When the pain let off, they forced her to pick up the guitar again, causing the same amount of pain. It was a lesson in submission, one she learned after a month of sheer agony. By then, however, the damage was done. Every time she considered rebelling, the pain came. She often wondered how they did it even as she cowered on a bed, trying to forget that she even existed._

Lorne heard a whimper behind him and stopped. Anna had met him this morning, appearing like she'd slept the night before. That was unusual, but the whimper concerned him. He turned as she hit the deck, her knees making a resounding thud. By the time he got to her side, she'd curled into a fetal position, put her hands to her head, and began to rock slightly, her eyes shut tightly enough that only one tear escaped. Lorne knelt over her, knowing that he shouldn't touch her but afraid not to. He put a hand to her shoulder and touched the radio he wore in his ear. "Med teams to my location. I've got a man down."

"Acknowledged." Beckett's voice was business-like.

Anna moaned from her place on the ground, and Lorne wished he knew more about first aid. Instead, he chose to talk to her. "Hang on, the doc's coming."

Suddenly, she blinked at him. "Major?" She tried to sit up.

He helped her lean against the wall of the hallway. "Just relax. Dr. Beckett will be here shortly."

Confusion covered her face. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Lorne met her eyes. "You're going to ride on the gurney to the infirmary and let Dr. Beckett examine you. People don't just fall over and curl into a ball for no reason."

She looked ready to fight him, but Beckett chose that moment to appear. "And what have we got here? Dr. Travis?"

Anna pushed Lorne's hand off her shoulder and tried to push Beckett away. "I'm fine."

"Like heck you are." Beckett glanced at Lorne, who shook his head. "The major doesn't call in a man down if someone is fine. Now, let's have a look."

Although her eyes narrowed, Anna allowed Beckett to take her blood pressure and pulse. Lorne waited, knowing the doc would find an elevated heart rate. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea. Last night, he'd wondered if he should step back and leave Anna to Ronon. Now, he decided that he'd better not. Ronon probably had no idea of how severe the flashbacks had become, and he wouldn't know what to look for until Anna pulled something like she'd just done with him.

Lorne frowned as Beckett helped Anna onto the stretcher. A few years ago, a friend of his was diagnosed with PTSD. Lorne remembered the days his friend had come to work exhausted and fighting to remain distant from everyone around him. Only after the diagnosis did things get better. Now, as he walked behind Beckett, he ground his teeth together. He should have recognized the signs. The hyper-vigilance, the exhaustion, the unwillingness to talk about anything from the past, the withdrawal. . .all classic signs of PTSD. Anna had likely suffered for a long time, but she had not known people who cared enough to notice the symptoms.

In the infirmary, Lorne took up a position beside Anna's head as Dr. Beckett examined her. He would have given them privacy, but Anna seemed intent on lying to the doctor. _That stops now_, Lorne decided. Rather than giving her space, he placed a hand on her shoulder. It seemed to calm her, and it reminded her that a ranking officer on Atlantis had sent her here. Lorne wasn't above using his rank if required.

Finally, Beckett made his way back to the pair. "Well, Anna, I've drawn blood, but I don't think I'll find anything unusual for you." He glanced a Lorne before continuing. "I think you're exhausted and refusing to accept some things. Have you talked to anyone since you've been on Atlantis?"

Anna squirmed under Lorne's hand. "No." She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. "I'm not exactly liked here. Or at home, for that matter."

Beckett's eyes sparkled at the face Lorne made. "Lass, you're liked a lot more than you know. I've seen you with Sheppard and his team as well, so I know you have a few friends. Find one you can talk to, or go see Dr. Heightmeyer. That's what she's here for." He held up a bottle of medication. "This is a very low dose of Ambien. Take one if you're unable to fall asleep by yourself. I also want you to take the day to rest."

Anna nodded meekly and accepted the medication. Lorne left her briefly to follow Beckett. "Doc, anything I can do to help her?"

Beckett turned, his eyes sharpening. "Aye. Be a friend. Let her know you're there to help her. Sometimes, people with these symptoms have trouble seeing a psychologist. While that would help Anna, she's going to need others she can trust with whom to share her secrets. And she needs closure."

Lorne nodded. "I've seen this before, and it didn't end well."

"Aye." Beckett glanced at Anna before pinning Lorne in place with a look. "Let's see that this time doesn't end that way, shall we, Major?"

"You got it, Doc." He returned to Anna's bedside and helped her to her feet. She moved like a woman in severe pain. "Doc says you can go, but you've got to take it easy for the day."

"Believe me when I say that won't be a problem." Anna winced as she straightened, the pills clenched in her fist. "Thank you for being there, Major."

"Anytime." Lorne led her toward the door, not touching her but not far away either. She moved slowly, and they drew a few glances in the halls. Anna held her head up and walked past those people, but Lorne knew the rumor mill would be buzzing by evening. He stayed silent until they reached Anna's door. "Try to rest. If you need to, take one of those pills."

Anna glanced at the bottle in her hand as she opened the door to her quarters. "I just might do that." She turned and gave him a smile. "Thank you for being there."

Lorne didn't comment. He didn't need to. As she slipped into her room, he caught a glimpse of an electronic piano next to the window. He waited until the door closed to glance around. No wonder he'd enjoyed the rendition of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" a nearly week ago. If Anna played the piano the way she played the guitar, she was talented enough to do Beethoven justice. Lorne shook his head as he walked away from her door. There was no stepping back now.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Anna stood just inside her room and stared at the medication in her hand. Why would a flashback pick now to manifest? She rolled her eyes at herself and tossed the pills on the bed. She'd had minor flashbacks before, but they were always vague and similar to déjà vu. She had always pulled herself out of them with little trouble. This time, however, it had hit with the ferocity of a charging rhino. She hadn't even fully realized what happened until she came out of it with Lorne kneeling over her, calling for a med team.

Too tired to think and too wired to sleep, Anna grabbed the bottle of pills and took one. She would likely regret this, but she needed sleep. After a hot soak in the bathtub, she felt the medication take the edge off of the energy and climbed into bed. She quickly braided her hair and fell asleep within half an hour.

Six hours later, Anna woke suddenly. The nightmares hadn't come this time, but she felt them hovering on the edges of her consciousness. She glanced at the clock and blinked. She hadn't slept this long in over a month. Most of her nights averaged between three and four hours of sleep. She rose and picked a cream-colored dress from her closet. She didn't wear it often, but it was her favorite. The sleeveless dress boasted a collar that opened into a deep "V," almost deep enough to show a bit of cleavage but not quite. The soft fabric fell around her ankles and brushed the tops of her feet. Anna smiled. They had made her wear this type of gown, and she'd continued the habit. It was the one thing she held onto because it made her feel elegant and womanly.

A simple string of faux pearls completed the dress, and Anna pulled her hair from its braid. The brown waves contrasted with the cream dress and heightened the healthy, tanned glow of her skin. She smiled. At times like this, she truly felt beautiful.

That evening, she joined Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, and McKay for dinner. The habit began after Teyla discovered her playing guitar in the meditation room, and the four seemed to welcome her. After enduring a day of stares and mistrust from other scientists from Earth, she basked in the acceptance and friendship, trying to soak up as much of it as possible against the next day. As she ate, though, she thought back to that morning and to the gentle care Lorne had given her before Dr. Beckett appeared. It seemed that she had another friend in the major, as well.

Anna had just returned to her quarters when an entry request sounded. She waved a hand in front of the panel and smiled when she saw Lorne outside her door. "Major."

He blinked. "Doc. I stopped by to see how you're doing."

"I'm doing pretty good." She saw a woman from her department pass and give them a curious look. "Care to come in?"

Lorne entered the room and seemed unsure. Anna smiled at his back as the door closed behind him. For a man who knew exactly what to do when a crisis hit, it was interesting to see him unable to figure out how to act in a woman's home.

He cleared his throat and seemed to find a focus. "You play the piano as well?"

"Yes." For Anna, it was a simple admission, not pride. She'd been told that she was a prodigy and gifted in music for so many years that it had stopped being a compliment.

Lorne motioned. "Would you play something?"

"Sure." She slipped onto the stool and suddenly wondered if this was a good idea. Most everyone on Atlantis knew she played guitar by now. They had all heard her play or heard of her playing at one time or another. The piano was different. Her grandmother had taught her to play it as well, but it had been the last thing her grandmother heard. Just before she died, the woman had asked Anna to play her piece for an upcoming recital. An hour later, she was gone.

Not wanting to dwell on the sad memory, Anna opened her music book and found Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." It was her all-time favorite, and she had practiced it recently. After beginning the count in her head, she began to play. Her fingers floated across the keys, and she played as much by memory as by the sheet music in front of her. Pages turned. The music swelled and ebbed, and Anna glanced at the man beside her.

Lorne wasn't watching the music or her hands. He stared at her face, his eyes wide. Anna looked back at her music, a small shiver beginning in her stomach. No man had looked at her like that since Jim Barringer. She glanced at Lorne again. _No_, she corrected herself, _no man has ever looked at me like that._ When Jim had looked at her, he always had a predatory gleam in his eye. Lorne stared like she was a treasure, a thing of beauty too precious to describe in words. It almost seemed that he was trying to memorize her face.

Anna's fingers slipped on the keys, and she stopped suddenly. "Sorry."

"No, that's okay." He finally looked away from her. "That was beautiful."

"Beethoven. Out of all his works, that's my favorite."

His eyes went back to her face. "I understand why."

Anna shifted on the stool, suddenly awkward as she watched him stand. She realized, for the first time, just how attractive the dark-haired major really was. Even though he still wore his uniform, she knew that there was more to Lorne than he allowed most people to see. Anna suddenly wanted to uncover those parts of him.

Lorne said goodnight a few moments later, and Anna stood at the closed door, thinking about what had just occurred. She had sworn that she would never open herself up to a man like she had with Jim Barringer. Being that open and honest had allowed her to get hurt. Now, as she remembered Lorne's expression as she played, she wondered if she should take that step again. Was she ready to share the nightmares, the guilt and anger that followed her from day to day? Did she have what it took to build a relationship with someone who risked his life for people from a completely different galaxy than his own? She fell asleep that night before she answered those questions.

~TBC~

**Author's Note: **Okay, so here's where some of the fluff comes in, if you don't count the stuff before this as fluff. But I needed some way for Anna to realize that it was okay to be attracted to a man, whether Ronon or Lorne. The information about PTSD was found on about. com . If this isn't entirely accurate, I apologize. I'm a music major at my local college, not a nursing or pre-med student. I'm stuck with the information I can pull off the internet. As always, hope you enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you. ~lg


	7. Chapter 7

_Bone-jarring agony dissolved into waves of pleasure. It was her second trip to the red room. The second man in an overly expensive suit to use her body to his liking. At first, she fought, but the pain that came with music returned. They still forced her to perform. She cried as they dressed her in revealing clothing, this time pure white. As if she was pure anymore. She hadn't been pure since the day Jim Barringer took her to the cave._

_Then, halfway through the act, she gave up. She could have kept fighting, but she simply didn't have the strength. The pain was too great and the fallout too severe. There were things they wanted her to do the next day, and she needed her wits about her to accomplish those tasks. Fighting the lingering effects of this new torture method would only slow her down. So, she surrendered to the act, to the façade they painted on her. And the pleasure came. More than merely the physical pleasure of a woman with a man, this was deeper. It went into her mind, and she was immediately addicted._

Anna woke without the usual start. The memory wasn't agonizing in its emotional torture, but it highlighted one moment of her greatest shame: the day she surrendered. She had gone to work the next day, acted as normal as possible, and done what was required of her.

Restlessly, she pushed back the covers and stared at the clock. She would be meeting Lorne in an hour. The sleeping pills Beckett had given her worked to some extent. Waking from the dream had been difficult, but not impossible. With a sigh, she rose and took a long shower. She normally waited until after the run to shower, but she felt dirty. Cheapened. She wished the memories washed away as easily as dirt.

Lorne waited in their normal meeting place. This morning, he stared out over the horizon, thoughtfully watching the sun come up. Last night, as he'd left, she'd wondered just what the future had in store for the two of them. Now, his face was closed to her. He could have been meeting Sheppard, based on his expression.

Anna stood next to him. "Good morning."

"Doc." Lorne's tone made her glance at him. When she did, he straightened and pinned her in place with a look. "We need to talk."

"We do?" She hated how simple that sounded, but they had not left anything unsaid the night before.

"Yeah." He looked away, his eyes going back to the sunrise. "Years ago, when I first got into the military, I had a friend shot down behind enemy lines. The Air Force searched for him, but he was MIA. That's what they told us. Anyway, _two years_ after he went missing, he was released from a POW camp somewhere in Asia. He returned to his wife and family, got to know the child he never knew he had. But things changed. He didn't sleep. He always worked until he dropped from sheer exhaustion. His wife never left him, but she said it was like he wasn't even at home. About a year after his return, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital for trying to commit suicide. He had PTSD, and he refused to allow anyone to help him. Said it was for their good, that they didn't know what he went through and didn't want to know."

Anna stared, amazed at the way Lorne's gaze jumped from the horizon to her face and back. He really was trying to be sympathetic. Finally, he faced her again. "What I'm saying is that I know, on a very basic level, what you're going through. I lost one friend already. I don't want you wandering through your time on Atlantis thinking you have no one to talk to. No matter what time it is, call me. I don't care what you want to talk about."

She opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She wanted to refuse him, wanted to spare herself his reaction when she told him the truth. Instead, she nodded. "Thank you, Major. I'll keep that in mind."

"Evan."

"Sorry?"

He grinned and returned to the running partner she'd known. "My name is Evan."

"And mine is Anna."

"Nice to meet you, Anna." He pushed away from the railing. "Shall we?"

Anna slipped past him and set the pace for the morning. As she ran, she thought about his words. He'd watched a friend slip away by refusing to get help. She needed help, and she knew it. But she couldn't tell Evan. Not now. Not after last night and the stirring she felt toward him. She couldn't sabotage that before she found out if it was worth letting the relationship-whatever it might be-bloom into a flower.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

That evening, before she went home for the day, Anna tracked down Ronon. He wasn't Lorne, but he understood what it was like to have dreams plague him day and night. She finally found him in his quarters and hesitated before requesting entry.

Ronon answered a moment later. "Hey."

Anna stared up at him, unsure if she should even be here. "I, um, needed to talk. Actually, ask you a question."

"Okay." His abrupt manner wasn't encouraging.

She glanced around and made sure no one was in earshot. "How do you deal with the nightmares? And the flashbacks?"

"I don't have flashbacks." Ronon left his room and started walking with her along the corridor. "As far as the dreams, I just fight. It seems to solve all problems."

Anna wanted to tell him that his answer didn't really help her. Instead, she thanked him for his time and left him to his evening. Somehow, she'd thought she could talk to Ronon, but he seemed to be a man of action rather than words. Not always a bad thing, but she needed more. Still, she was willing to give his suggestions a try. So, she began searching Atlantis yet again.

She found Teyla in a small room, finishing her lesson with a young Athosian woman learning to use a knife. Anna waited until she said her goodbyes and then stepped into the room.

"Anna." Teyla seemed genuinely pleased to see her. "What brings you here?"

"A favor, actually." Anna twisted her fingers together. "I was kind of hoping you could teach me to fight with those rods."

"_Bantos_ fighting?" Teyla smiled at her. "I can teach you if you so wish."

"Great." Anna tried to put some enthusiasm into her tone but failed miserably. Teyla gave her instructions for the evening and told her to be back in this room in an hour. Anna went her way and returned, ready for whatever punishment she'd receive.

Teyla showed her the very basics of _bantos_ fighting, but it still exhausted Anna. The physical workout, combined with the sleeping pill, put her out for the entirety of the night. She was so tired that the nightmares didn't think about returning. The next morning, she ran with Lorne in spite of her stiff muscles. If he noticed her slower pace, he didn't comment. Instead, they chatted like friends rather than running in silence. She knew he wondered about her happy mood.

Three days later, Anna had fallen into a routine. She ran with Lorne in the morning, worked through the day, and trained with Teyla in the evenings. New bruises appeared on her skin, but she didn't care. If this was what it took to escape the nightmares, she'd willingly endure.

On the third evening, Teyla finished the lesson early and put the rods away. Then, she whirled and stared at Anna. "What are you doing to yourself?"

"Sorry?" Anna wiped her face with a towel, already looking forward to the shower waiting for her.

"You come here to learn, but you push yourself past what you should be doing." Teyla stood in front of her, holding out one hand as if in supplication. "It is as if you are trying to fight something that neither of us can confront."

"That pretty much sums it up," Anna said wryly.

"Why not share what it is?" Teyla asked. "Then we can confront it as friends."

"You wouldn't understand." Anna hated how angry that sounded, but she couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice. "And, from what I've seen, there's not really anyone on Atlantis that would understand. Or care." She added that last bit under her breath, but Teyla heard her.

"I care." The Athosian woman scowled, a compassionate look creeping onto her face. "And I _know_ Ronon cares."

Anna frowned. "Why do you say it that way?"

"Have you not seen the glances he gives you? The way he is always very awkward when you are present?"

Anna stared, suddenly understanding what Teyla was saying. She'd felt that way around Lorne a few days ago. The words that she wanted to say were simply not available, and so she resorted to monosyllabic answers and awkward statements. For that matter, Lorne had shown the same signs when he'd stopped by her room that night.

Anna moved to the bench in the room and sat down. How could she have missed something so obvious? No wonder the rumor mill was so active. She'd heard more about Ronon and Lorne in the last few days than she'd heard since she came to Atlantis. The women, in particular, speculated her relationship with both men.

Another thought crossed her mind. She had never felt the stirring toward Ronon that she felt toward Lorne. The big Satedan didn't strike her as anything more than a good friend. And he'd been thinking of her in a romantic sense. She looked at Teyla. "What have I done?"

Teyla settled next to her. "Why do you ask?"

"There's just. . .someone else that I'm sort of. . .interested in." Anna twisted her fingers together. "Well, not interested in, exactly, but, well, he's a friend, and I like him, and. . . ."

"Say no more." Teyla smiled. "I understand."

"That's not what you were talking about earlier, though. It's not about. . .this guy or anything." Anna had almost said Lorne's name and thought better of it. "I just don't really have anyone here on Atlantis who can truly understand what I went through. Dr. Heightmeyer would try to psychoanalyze me and treat me, but I don't need that. I went through that back on Earth. I need someone who truly _understands_ what I feel and think."

Teyla didn't comment but touched her shoulder. After a moment, she stirred. "Shall we go get something to eat?"

"Like this?" Anna stared at her sweat-soaked attire. "Give me thirty minutes to clean up first."

"Very well." Teyla rose, and the women walked from the room together. Anna rushed through a shower, thankful that she'd worn her hair up that day. Then, she slipped on the turquoise dress and met Teyla just outside the mess hall door. To her great relief, Ronon was nowhere to be seen, and she enjoyed the evening meal without the need for constant embarrassment. She just hoped that she'd be able to face him when she saw him again.

~TBC~


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **I am messing with the canon in this scene. There are two things the writers did that I did not agree with. They killed Weir and Beckett. So, this scene is written to assume that, while the Replicators attacked and Atlantis changed planets, Weir is still alive and in command of Atlantis rather than Sam Carter. I'm also taking a slight bit of liberty with Lorne's retelling of "Tabula Rasa," so this does contain spoilers as well. Also, as I wrote this chapter, I realized I have something of a time discrepancy to something I mentioned in a previous chapter. I'm going to go back and correct that, so go with the time frame in this chapter. Some things just don't appear until later chapters are written. Sorry for the confusion. Enjoy and let me know what you think. ~lg

SGA SGA SGA SGA

_On her third visit to the red room, she didn't fight. She willingly donned the clothing they asked of her and waited impatiently. The rewards came more often than the pain lately, and she found herself wanting more. Willing to do anything to feel that high again. She knew she'd become an addict, but she didn't care. The torture had broken her will and created a need inside her._

_The man appeared, this time dressed in a leather coat and jeans. He was in his mid-forties, and he acted like most thugs on the street. In fact, that's what he was: a thug who had very strange tastes. Her costume for the evening reflected that, including a thick gold necklace that lay heavy on her neck, preventing the need for much clothing in the area. Gypsy-style bracelets circled her left wrist while a strange slave-bracelet coiled around her right wrist, its chains running to her fingers._

_This time in the room was like any other time, but she surrendered herself before the man touched her. When she finished, she smiled at him, pushed him deeper into the bed, and raised her right hand over his head. The waves of pleasure began again._

Anna struggled to wake from the dream even as she watched the man die at her hands. She finally pushed the last vestiges of sleep away and sat upright, willing the nausea and memories away. She had slept through the night again, but the dreams still came. She wasn't sure if the extra sleep was worth the fight it took to wake herself.

After her stomach settled, she climbed from bed and prepared for her run. Evan had insisted that they become friends, and he'd started sharing bits of his life. Anna discovered that she rather liked this version of her running partner over the silent one. While he never prodded her to reveal what went through her head, the question was always there, always hovering at the edges of the conversation.

He waited in what she thought of as "their spot." The sunrise was beautiful, but she couldn't shake the darkness of her dream. Evan saw through her façade as she greeted him, but she didn't care. She didn't want to talk, either. Right now, running would help. That and a sudden case of amnesia.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne's team went off rotation that night. They had been off-world a total of five times in the last week, though none of them had interfered with his morning run. He was grateful for that. Anna was too withdrawn for her own good, and he couldn't forget the glimpse of her that he saw while she played the piano. That night had been good for both of them. Lorne knew why her fingers slipped. He'd allowed his emotions to get the better of him, and Anna had seen it. Not that he cared. He didn't know what she'd been through, but she needed to understand that someone cared in spite of what happened.

After his shift ended, Lorne changed into jeans, a white t-shirt, and a paint-spattered blue button-down shirt. He left the shirt open and untucked, not caring how it looked. Then, he gathered the painting he'd begun a few nights ago, his easel, paints, brushes, and palette. Only a few people knew of this past time he allowed himself, and he normally didn't reveal it. Painting absorbed a person, and Atlantis was not a place to be so absorbed that he didn't know what happened around him.

He carried his supplies to the lookout where he met Anna every morning. The geeks promised that tonight's moon rise would be spectacular, and he needed just such an event to get the painting he'd started to look right. Lorne had been fascinated with moonscapes ever since hearing Anna play the "Moonlight Sonata" for the first time. His fascination with them only increased after she played the Beethoven piece _for_ him.

Someone had beat him to the lookout. Lorne slowed and would have gone his way, but he recognized Anna's form. She wore the red dress, the one that left her shoulders and part of her back bare. The wind had lifted her hair from her shoulders, and she'd corralled it by pulling to one side. Lorne carefully set his supplies where they wouldn't fall or get blown away. If he could take a picture, he would. The scene was perfect.

Then, Anna moved. Her shoulders shifted, and Lorne pulled his attention from her back when she wiped a tear from her face. Clearing his throat so that she'd know he was there, he moved to her side. She turned her face from him, but it didn't matter. He'd seen enough to know that she was hurting. "Hey, if you'd rather be alone, say the word."

"Have you ever done anything you're ashamed of?" she asked.

The question startled him. He leaned his elbows on the railing beside her, close enough that he could easily reach for her hand if the need arose. "Yeah, all of us have at one point or another."

"Tell me about it."

Lorne's eyes went to the horizon. The moon rise had begun, and it was as spectacular as promised. But something had shifted. Anna chose this moment to open up, and he refused to destroy that. "When we first came to this planet, we didn't know that there was a mutated disease here. It basically caused everyone to lose their memory, as well as making us very sick. The only way to keep the symptoms at bay was to take stimulants. As the disease worked on me, I took so many that I became somewhat addicted. I started out by putting everyone who was sick in the mess hall, which should have made it easier for the doctors to treat them. Instead, I became something of a dictator. I shot Teyla and put her in the brig. I would have shot Ronon and Colonel Sheppard had there not been precautions taken." He eyed her. "Not one of my best moments."

"I killed a man," she said. There was no preamble or justification, and instinct told Lorne that there was more to the story. "About six months ago."

"Okay." He tried to find the words. "There were extenuating circumstances, I assume? A kill or be killed type of situation?"

"You don't get it. I liked it." She moved suddenly to face him, her eyes wild. She reached up to grab her head with both hands, jabbing her fingers into her hair. "Oh, God, I _liked_ it!"

Lorne knew that she was praying for absolution by the way her eyes went to the sky. Sensing she was on the edge of hysterics, he skipped past taking her hand to comfort her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms.

Anna fought him for a moment and then relaxed into the embrace. Lorne held her while she fell apart on his shoulder. There was only an inch or so difference in their height, and that made it easy for her to rest her head on his shoulder. Still, as he held her, he wondered what had led up to this sudden revelation and her subsequent break-down. Part of him worried that she would withdraw again, but he refused to let that happen. As she cried, he ran his hands gently through her hair and wondered how he'd gotten to this point. He cared for this woman a lot more than he should have.

Just as she'd begun to calm, the radio in their ears came to life. "Dr. Travis to the infirmary immediately," Beckett announced. "Dr. Travis to the infirmary."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

The trip through the Stargate ended like every other trip. Sheppard looked around. Night had fallen on this planet, but distant fire illuminated the clouds, making them seem closer to the ground. Something wasn't right. This was the fourth planet they'd been to since Lorne's meeting with Amaan. Out of all of the worlds, this was one of Jeneb's closest allies. If anyone had any idea what was happening on Jeneb and why planetary leaders suddenly went missing, this planet would know.

With Ronon watching the team's six, Sheppard led the way toward the lit horizon. Something caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. A quick glance at his team told him that they sensed it, too. McKay seemed to understand that this wasn't the time for words.

The path through to the village led them through a dense forest. On any other day, Sheppard would have preferred to walk this path in the daytime. But, they hadn't come from Atlantis. They'd come from another planet with another missing delegate. He had checked in with Atlantis and received Weir's permission to investigate. So, here they were, after dark, tired, and hungry. Not the greatest of circumstances.

Before they reached the village, a call rang out. Seconds later, a red beam from some sort of energy weapon arched out of the forest and slammed into a tree behind them. Ronon jumped out of the way as the tree fell, taking McKay with them. Sheppard leaped over the fallen tree and backed into his team. "Teyla, I thought these people were farmers."

"They are." Her voice was tense. "I do not know where these weapons came from."

"Alright, Ronon take point. We head back to the gate and head home." Sheppard looked around. "Maybe they just don't like visitors after dark."

Ronon took off toward the gate with Rodney hot on his heels. Teyla followed, and Sheppard watched to make sure they weren't followed. The dense brush kept him from seeing how attackers they had or if they were followed. But two more energy beams jumped out at them. Sheppard cursed. When they reached the gate, Ronon dropped to his knees and fired two shots from that gun of his, but neither one stopped what happened next.

As Sheppard dialed Atlantis and McKay entered their IDC code, Ronon suddenly fell backwards as one of the red beams connected with his shoulder. He pushed himself up as Sheppard dropped to one knee and tried to pull him behind the DHD. Before either man could react, a form appeared from the forest and leveled a long quarterstaff-looking weapon at them.

"Oh, no." Sheppard moved quickly, his heart sinking, but it wasn't quick enough. Ronon took another shot, this one to his gut, just as McKay called out for them to follow him. Teyla ran over and helped Sheppard lift the Satedan enough to get him through the gate. As they entered the wormhole, he glanced back. A second figure had joined the first, and his eyes glowed as he watched the trio escape through the gate.

Mayhem broke out in the Atlantis control room. Weir called for Beckett and a med team while security teams ducked out of the way. Another staff weapon blast had followed them through the gate. Chuck engaged the shield and shut down the wormhole after diving behind his computer. The window in the tower-the one shattered by the Replicator attack on Atlantis-once again lay in shards on the floor.

Beckett ran in. "What happened?"

"Staff weapon blast. Two of them." Sheppard stepped back as Beckett and two other doctors lifted Ronon onto the gurney. He caught Elizabeth's startled glance. "I saw the Goa'uld with my own eyes. I can't be sure, but I think it's in the leader we were trying to find."

Sheppard left Weir standing in the control room and followed Ronon to the infirmary. Once there, Beckett placed him under the scanner. When the doctor's face fell, Sheppard stepped forward. "Carson?"

"It's not good, I'm afraid." Beckett turned. "I could try to operate, but I don't think I can work that fast." He went on to call other medical personnel over and gave each of them explicit, yet incomprehensible, instructions. They went to work as Beckett rounded the foot of the bed.

"You have to _do_ something!" Sheppard stared at the doctor.

"I know that, Colonel." Beckett thought for a millisecond. "What about Dr. Travis?"

Sheppard stilled. He wasn't sure if anyone other than Beckett, Weir, and himself knew the truth about Anna Travis. But Ronon was dying, and she might be the only one who could help.

Alarms blared through the infirmary, and another doctor rushed over. "He's crashing."

Beckett cursed and moved to try to stabilize Ronon. Sheppard made his decision. "Do it."

Beckett nodded, finished his work, and touched his radio. "Dr. Travis to the infirmary _immediately_. Dr. Travis to the infirmary."

The medical team continued to work over Ronon as they waited. Sheppard, Teyla, and McKay found an out of the way place where they could see Ronon. Just when Sheppard jumped up to go find Anna, she ran through the door with Lorne right behind her. At any other time, he might have raised an eyebrow at their appearance. Lorne rarely wore his civies, and Anna looked as wonderful as she always did. The Marines that had followed Sheppard from the control room did glance at each other when they entered.

Anna joined Beckett immediately. "Doctor?"

"I need you, lass." Beckett stilled and stared at her over Ronon's broken body. "_He_ needs you. I can't work as fast as you can. You brought the device, and you can fix him. There's nothing I can do from here. At least, nothing that would ultimately save his life. He's too far gone already."

Anna's eyes cut to Lorne, and Sheppard had the sudden urge to slap the major on his back in congratulations. He stayed in place, however, as Anna nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."

While Beckett ran to a secure locker holding the device Anna needed, she glanced around. Sheppard understood. Lorne wasn't armed, but the three Marines, Rodney, and Teyla were. She had checked her chances of survival.

Beckett returned a moment later with a box. Anna opened the lid without fuss and pulled out a strange round device. It looked like a massive bracelet with an orange stone. When she slipped the Goa'uld healing device on her hand, it immediately began to glow.

The reaction was immediate. Doctors and nurses tried to shield Ronon. McKay and the Marines drew their weapons on her. And Lorne stepped back. Anna raised her hands in surrender, the device deactivating while she looked at Sheppard.

"At ease." Sheppard glanced around, suddenly irritated at the Marines when they sent questioning looks at him. "Do you think I didn't know about this when she first got to Atlantis? I said, at ease."

They lowered their weapons, and Anna nodded at him. With a calm expression on her face, she stepped to Ronon's side, activated the device, and went to work.

~TBC~


	9. Chapter 9

When Beckett first called, Anna lifted her head and tried to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop. She'd already soaked Evan's shirt, and she started to apologize. He kept a hold on her shoulders. "Don't."

Anna nodded. "Thanks."

"Let's go." He turned and waited for her to precede him. "The doc said immediately."

She led the way, nearly running in her haste to get to the infirmary. There were very few reasons that Beckett would call her to the infirmary, none of them good. At any rate, she might not be able to keep her secret for much longer. When she reached the door, Lorne touched her shoulder and let her know he was there with her.

Inside, Beckett and a team of medical personnel worked over Ronon. Anna's stomach clenched. She'd seen enough staff weapon wounds to understand the severity of Ronon's condition. She wasn't sure if it was Jaffa weaponry that had caused it, but that didn't matter. The Satedan looked like he'd had a huge chunk of his gut blown away. She walked toward him, steeling herself for what she now knew would happen. "Doctor?"

"I need you, lass." Beckett met her eyes. "_He_ needs you. I can't work as fast as you can. You brought the device, and you can fix him. There's nothing I can do from here. At least, nothing that would ultimately save his life. He's too far gone already."

Anna looked at Evan. He stood with Sheppard, slightly confused at how a situation involving Ronon had suddenly centered around her. She considered his face, his words. Surely he wasn't a man to betray her simply because of her past. Even then, she couldn't let Ronon die. She nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."

Beckett rushed for the device while Anna glanced around. While Evan wasn't armed, he was still very capable of restraining her. That assumed the Marines didn't shoot her on sight. And what about McKay? Sheppard knew her darkest secret, and he'd allowed her to come to Atlantis. Now, it was time to test these people and the strength of their friendships, if she could call them that.

Beckett returned and held the box open for her. Anna reached in and, decision made, slipped the Goa'uld healing device over her hand. The naquadah in her blood stream activated it immediately. Weapons clicked behind her, and she held up her hands. Teyla looked confused, but McKay and the Marines held her at gunpoint. Lorne stepped back, his face closed while his eyes glared at her.

"At ease." Sheppard held out a hand, his voice slightly angry. "Do you think I didn't know about this when she first got to Atlantis? I said, at ease."

The Marines lowered their weapons, and McKay eyed Sheppard. Lorne stayed where he was, not entirely sure if he wanted to approach her. Anna put it out of her mind. She could deal with the rejection later. Once she found that calm place in her mind, she stepped up to Ronon and began to work.

There wasn't much to do with a Goa'uld healing device. It worked very similar to the dermal regenerators from that Star Trek show, mending the torn ligaments and organs. Anna stood over Ronon, concentrating on keeping the device active until he was healed. Beckett kept an eye on Ronon's vitals. When his wounds were healed, Anna slipped the device from her hand, gave it to Beckett, and left the infirmary. No one followed her.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne stirred as the door closed behind Anna. At first, he'd been horrified when the healing device activated as soon as she touched it. Then, as she worked, reason got the better of him. Of course she wasn't a Goa'uld. The doctors on Earth would have discovered that before she even came to Atlantis. Beckett clearly knew her secret, as did Sheppard. It must have been Anna's request that the knowledge wasn't widely known.

He stepped back as Beckett put Ronon under the scanner. Sheppard would brief him on the situation. Right now, he needed to find Anna. He needed to let her know that he didn't hate her. The initial shock had caused him to step back to a safe distance, and he saw the hurt on her face when he did so. If possible, he needed to rebuild that bridge of friendship.

She wasn't in her room or on the lookout where they met in the mornings. Lorne quietly gathered his painting gear. The urge to paint wasn't as strong, and he knew tomorrow would have a moon rise very similar to tonight's. He carried his gear to his room and left it in a heap on the floor. Then, he began hunting.

He found Anna on a balcony, tucked away from most of the crew quarters and quite a distance from the main tower. She stood with her back to him, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Evan stepped toward her, not sure that she'd heard him enter. She cried so softly that he wasn't sure he truly heard her when she drew in a ragged breath. Rather than speak, he simply touched her shoulder.

She whirled, raising her hands defensively. When she saw him, she calmed a bit.

He smiled gently. "Sorry."

She shrugged and turned back to the view before her. "So, now you know."

"That you _were_ a host to a snake?" He hated how callous that sounded, but it wasn't in his power to be gentle toward the Goa'uld. He moved into position beside her, taking the same stance he had earlier that evening. "Yeah, now I know."

"I thought about telling you." She looked at the sky. "But, when I first came here, everyone I traveled with knew about it. All the scientists knew I'd betrayed them by working among them and selling their secrets to Ba'al. I couldn't let that stop me from working on the ATA gene, but I couldn't find anyone who would understand."

Lorne nodded. "I get that." He turned to face her. "But what you need to get is that those of us that have been on Atlantis for any length of time don't care. Sheppard clearly knew, but Ronon and Teyla won't care. _I _don't care."

Those words made her cry again. "I dream about it." She glanced at him. "When I do, I'm always a prisoner. Unable to break out of the restraints. That's what I felt like. Then, when I couldn't handle it anymore, I gave in. I quit fighting, and she rewarded me for it. I got addicted to that reward and would do whatever it took to feel that again."

"Like a drug addict."

"Yeah. Only, for me, it was worse. She made me do things that no person should have to do." Anna rolled her head around, the tension in her neck clearly bugging her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Lorne waved the apology aside. "So, the Tok'ra freed you?"

"Yeah." She let out a deep breath. "Since I wasn't a member of an SG team, I got by without detection for a few months. Then, they needed someone with my experience to head off world. I managed to make it home without being discovered, but the after action physical revealed what had happened. They restrained me and called in the Tok'ra.

"Oddly enough, I was doing okay until that day we got stuck in the cave." She smiled at him, and it touched her eyes this time. "Remember how I thanked you? Well, all of the scientists knew but had been sworn to secrecy by General O'Neill. Having someone sit next to me in the cave and in the Jumper kept me from panicking. When I was taken, my boyfriend took me to a similar cave. I thought it was for a rendezvous, but it wasn't. It was so his symbiote could jump into my body."

Lorne stayed silent. He wasn't sure what to say. In all his time, he hadn't been subjected to being a prisoner in his own body. For her part, Anna went back to studying the sky and its constellations. She seemed to relax now that her secret was out. He wondered how long that would last. With the very public nature of the revelation, the rumor mill would eventually find out. Lorne wished he could silence that as much as he wished he could take all of her pain.

Another thought occurred to him. Goa'uld were known for taking attractive hosts. No wonder the symbiote had jumped into her body. Given Anna's appearance, the snake had most likely used her to grant sexual favors in exchange for men doing its dirty work. That angered him like nothing ever had. He worked to keep the anger from his face and to unclench his fists.

Finally, he touched her arm. "You need to rest."

"I know." She straightened and allowed him to escort her to her quarters. Once there, she faced him. "Thank you."

He smiled at her. Rather than answering, he touched her arm and went his way. He knew he was in over his head concerning her, and he liked it. But he wasn't sure he should allow himself to continue the relationship. Distracted men got themselves killed. He looked around. It wasn't like he was starting a relationship with someone on Earth who would have to live without him for more than a few weeks here and there. This woman lived on Atlantis. She'd survived a Goa'uld living inside her body. She had the strength to go through whatever life handed her.

Lorne shook his head as he made his way to his quarters. Just when did he begin thinking of his friendship with Anna as a long-term relationship? He didn't want to answer that question right then. Instead, he relaxed back on his bed and tried to wrap his mind around the revelation of what she had endured before coming to Atlantis.

~TBC~


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Anna rose early and dressed for her run. She'd dreamed the night before, as usual, but it wasn't as intense. It seemed that her memories lost their power simply because someone knew. More importantly, Lorne knew. He had not stayed with her for very long, and she understood that. He needed time to absorb this new revelation. But, with the little time that he had taken out just for her, he succeeded in reassuring her of his friendship.

She arrived at the lookout before he even appeared, and that suited her just fine. She spent the time enjoying the wind in her face, allowing it to cleanse the night's terror from her mind. Why had she delayed for so long? She should have known that Lorne, at least, wouldn't hold another's actions against her, even if that "other person" was technically her body. Anna shook her head. The concept of being held prisoner in one's own body still sent her mind for a loop. Sometimes, the implications of being taken by a Goa'uld confused the most intelligent people.

Evan appeared, and she offered him a smile. Today, he wore the same t-shirt and jogging pants as any other day, but his knowledge made him seem more attractive. _Or is it the fact that I know he knows?_ Anna wondered. She didn't care.

He stopped beside her and turned his eyes to the sunrise. "How are you?"

"Good." She grinned when he glanced at her. "I know I have issues, and I know they still need to be worked out. But, after yesterday, I'm doing okay." 

"They really treated you that badly on Earth?"

"Not General O'Neill or anyone in any position of power." Anna sobered. "But my colleagues never looked at me the same. And you've seen how I'm treated here. As far as those scientists I worked with on Earth are concerned, I have a scarlet letter that I can't get rid of."

"Nathaniel Hawthorne," he mused. "Sometimes, I wonder if he was trying to expose sin or the double standard others in the town had toward the woman."

Anna glanced at him suddenly. "You've read the book?"

"My mom teaches college." He glanced at her. "You haven't?"

"No. I've always just known what the scarlet letter meant." She grinned. "You learn something new every day. Tell me. What was The Scarlet Letter about?"

"Basically, a woman guilty of adultery is forced to wear the letter 'A' across her breast for as long as she lived." He shrugged. "The townspeople keep reminding her of the letter and its reasons by shunning her and her child. In the end, her actions bring her respect. She eventually reveals who her lover was, but she also did a lot of good works as well."

"Well, that's how I feel." Anna straightened, getting ready to run.

Lorne had other ideas, however. "I thought about something last night." His voice took on a softer, serious tone. "You're a musician, right?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know if you've ever written anything. But have you ever thought about writing a musical score to what happened to you?" He shrugged. "A sort of journal, for lack of a better way to describe it."

She stilled. "Who would want to listen to something like that?"

"Does it matter?" He turned back the way he came and motioned for her to follow him. "Let me show you something."

As they walked back toward the crew quarters, Anna watched the people around them. Atlantis was stirring, and people prepared for their day. Several Marines gave them a curious look, but no one approached. No one really seemed to care. At his quarters, Lorne opened the door and invited her in.

Anna would have stood in the door and stared if not for the eyes she imagined on the back of her head. Instead, she stepped to the side and allowed the door to close. Lorne's quarters were as far from what she'd pictured as could be. She always thought he'd live with rigid military precision and have everything in its place. While the tops of the desk, dresser, and bedside tables exhibited that military precision, the rest of the room wasn't so neat. An easel stood near the window, draped in a thick white cloth. Paints scattered the surface of a small table next to it, and brushes had been lined up from largest to smallest. Several cloths, all paint-stained, were draped over the corners of the table. And canvasses. . . . Anna felt her jaw drop. Canvasses of various sizes leaned against the walls. It would have appeared cluttered if she had not been able to discern the method he used. Only a few blank canvasses remained. The rest were stacked neatly by size.

She turned to him and pointed at the paintings. "May I?"

"Be my guest." Lorne watched as she began carefully going through the paintings he'd finished. While time wasn't something he had in abundance, he still managed to complete a few. Most of them weren't anything to write home about, but he kept them nonetheless. Perhaps, some day, they would inspire him to paint something else.

Suddenly, he appreciated how nervous Anna must have been when he asked her to play the piano. In seeing his work, she was also seeing _him_. He wasn't sure she would understand that, but he knew he put more emotion into painting than just about anything else.

"Oh." Her soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. She crouched beside the largest of his paintings, admiring one of Atlantis' sunset. It had been a particularly rough day, and he had returned from an off-world mission early due to an injury on the team. As a result of his irritation, the sunset boasted more reds and oranges cutting sharply into the lavenders of the evening. Not necessarily an exact representation of the sunset, but his view of it. Painting that one had soothed the irritation and helped clear his head.

Anna finally rose after staring at the painting for a long time. She met his eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused as she tried to take in everything around her. "I had no idea you were an artist."

He grinned. "My mom teaches art at her local college. She just happened to force me to read a few classics along the way."

"These are amazing!" Anna turned around to stare at the sunset again, and Lorne made a quick decision.

"You can take that one with you, if you like."

"What?" Her head came up suddenly. "No. I really can't."

"Why?" He held out his hands. "This is what I'm talking about. I don't paint because of who will look at it or who will want it. I paint because it's what I do to escape. To relax. Here on Atlantis, we have all kinds of nightmare-inducing encounters, and we have them every day. All of us have to find some way to put that to rest. For you, it's music. For me, it's painting. Art has many forms, but it's healing, no matter which form you choose."

She stopped to think about that. "I never thought about music as art." She shrugged. "It's all about counting and patterns to me. A whole note gets four beats, a half note gets two, and so on. Then, when those are arranged in the right order, a melody appears. There's room for creativity, but nothing like _this_." She motioned to the paintings around her.

"Art isn't just about painting or drawing." He stepped over to the sunset and set it aside, intending to take it to her room when she left. "It's about expression. A person's medium changes based on what they love. You love music, and that is your medium. I use color and paint. Another person dances. Someone else writes. All of it is art even if it takes a different form."

"And he's a poet, too," she said with a grin.

Lorne returned the grin even as he glanced at the clock. It was time to prepare for the day. "Think about what I said. About the musical score."

"I will." Her grin widened as he carried the painting to the door.

"We can get this hung up somewhere in your room later, if you like."

"Maybe." Anna let him follow her, and he saw the thoughtfulness that descended on her face. While they hadn't run, their talk seemed to have helped her. Maybe she would think about his suggestion. Even if she didn't share the music with anyone, it would be an outlet that she needed.

Later that evening, after a day spent doing next to nothing, Lorne found his way to the lookout point yet again. He had checked in with Ronon and found the guy doing fantastically well. Slightly sore from his encounter, but nothing else wrong. Anna's healing device did the trick nicely. Content that the world was mostly right, he set up his easel and focused on his painting.

That morning, Anna had not asked to see the piece he'd kept draped, and he was grateful. He didn't think he was ready to reveal just how deeply he felt about her. Not yet. She needed time to heal, and he needed time to absorb the impact of her experiences. Out of all the women on Atlantis, he'd fallen for the one with the greatest hurt he could imagine. He also needed to come to grips with the fact that a woman was now in his life. Early in his military career, he met and nearly proposed to a woman stationed on the same base. Just before he popped the question, her husband showed up. Lorne had stepped back gracefully, requested a transfer, and went to war. At that time, he decided that his military career was enough for him. Anna had changed his mind.

All these thoughts, and more, flickered through his mind as he painted. The light he set up behind him didn't dim the horizon, though it cast a shadow that was interesting. By the time he added the last touches of paint to the canvas, he smiled. This painting would remain his secret for a while. The image of Anna as she played the "Moonlight Sonata" had struck him so strongly that he spent a good portion of that night committing her likeness to the canvass. Now, it glowed in the moonlight of New Lantea's two moons, the darkness of her hair highlighted by the moons' rays, and her eyes sparkling as they had sparkled when she played the piano. He almost wished he could find a way to infuse the music with the paint, but he refused to add a piano to the scene. Just Anna's profile and shoulders before the ethereal appearance of the two moons. Satisfied, he added his signature to the bottom of the page in a pale blue he'd used for parts of the moon. His painting, "Moonlit Sonata," was complete.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

True to his word, Evan stopped by after Anna's duty shift ended. She had just finished changing out of her uniform when he arrived. Now, she stared at the sunset scene hung opposite her bed. The painting spoke to her like no other picture had. The angry reds and oranges of a long, difficult day slowly surrendered to the tranquility and coolness of the encroaching night. It really was a brilliant piece of art, and she was honored that Evan had given it to her. Honored and humbled at the same time. They didn't speak much while he worked, but they said enough. The silence that had characterized the beginning of their relationship-was only a couple weeks ago?-returned with a comfort that came from knowing the other person. Anna understood that she'd seen a side of Evan that very few people on Atlantis knew existed. The artist hiding beneath the soldier intrigued her.

Anna looked around her room and grinned. She could put her piano below the painting and facing the window. That way, she'd see the painting when she awoke, and it would be behind her as she played. She liked the idea.

An entry request sounded as she arranged her piano below the painting, and she frowned. She wasn't expecting any company, and she had not heard from Teyla concerning their fighting lessons. Moving to open the door, Anna blinked when Ronon stood outside.

He straightened. "Hey."

"Hi." She tried to smile at his inscrutable look. "Nice to see you up and around."

"Yeah, um, about that?" He stepped back to allow her to leave her quarters. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She fell into step as they strolled along the corridor. "What happened out there?"

Ronon looked at her sharply, seeming to see if she could handle the truth. "I don't know. They just started firing. Sheppard thinks there's something more to it than us trespassing, and he sent another team back to investigate."

"I hope they're okay."

"Yeah."

As they walked, Anna tried to find something to discuss that didn't revolve around work on Atlantis. She failed miserably. As Ronon escorted her back to her room, she realized something. She liked him, just as she liked Sheppard and McKay. But he didn't cause that wonderful feeling in the pit of her stomach that Lorne stirred. She watched him go, slightly confused. Just when had Lorne become more than a good friend? And what would she do about Ronon, if what Teyla said was true?

~TBC~

**Author's Note:** I don't remember the show ever naming the new planet that Atlantis moved to. So I decided to call it New Lantea. If this is wrong, just let me know. And I decided to reveal Lorne's artwork a little differently than I normally do. Most times, I would have a character find him while he was painting, much like Beckett did in "Sunday." But, it worked better this way for this story. It also gave the characters a chance to talk about a pretty serious subject without all the emotion of the previous chapter. Hope you liked it as well. As always, review and let me know what you think. ~lg


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Contains minor spoilers for "Critical Mass" and "The Long Goodbye."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Anna returned to her work the next day with renewed interest. For the first time since coming to Atlantis, she confidently ignored the stares and whispers of her coworkers. Quite a few people had seen her chatting with Evan outside her room the night before, and rumors were bound to fly. Anna didn't care. She stared at the DNA profiles on her computer screen, content to let the murmurs swirl around her. She even smiled, something that wasn't common for her. Then, she looked up and found everyone in the lab either focusing too closely on their work or staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing." One of the women, Rachel Harrison, shook her head. "You just look happy."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Is that not allowed here?"

"No." Rachel squirmed a bit on her stool, and Anna grinned. "It's just that. . . . Never mind."

Anna returned to her work, trying to locate the marker in Sheppard's DNA that set him apart from McKay and Beckett. While Beckett had the ATA gene naturally, Sheppard's gene was stronger. The strong mental component of operating Ancient technology probably figured into that, but she wanted to find out why some people weren't able to receive the ATA gene therapy.

"Dr. Travis to the briefing room." The announcement pulled her head up, and she frowned. Why would she be paged to the briefing room unless. . . . A bit of trepidation rose in her stomach. Did they want to question her about her time as a Goa'uld host? She honestly wasn't sure how she'd handle that. Rather than showing these emotions on her face, she shed her lab coat and made her way to the briefing room.

Dr. Weir, Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, McKay, and Beckett were all present, as was an older, balding gentleman. Anna recognized him as Colonel Caldwell, the commander of the Daedalus. She nodded to Weir and slipped around the horse-shoe shaped table to take up an empty seat beside Caldwell. He nodded toward her, and she tried to smile. She failed miserably and nearly breathed a sigh of relief when Evan entered the room.

Weir leaned her elbows on the table and pressed her palms together. "Now that we're all here, we can start."

The doors to the briefing room closed behind Evan, and he settled in the seat beside her, deliberately bumping her foot in the process. Anna understood. Neither of them were ready to fully reveal anything because they weren't sure what their relationship really was. Still, with that small bump, he let her know he was there for support. He nodded to Weir. "Sorry to be late. I was in the middle of a staffing incident."

Anna didn't like the slightly angry tone in his voice.

Weir nodded. "Captain Brandt radioed in less than an hour ago. His team is pinned down by enemy fire, and they're unable to get to the gate. Major Lorne, I want your team to accompany Colonel Sheppard to P47-229 and extract Captain Brandt and his men. The reason for this briefing, however, is different." She looked at Anna and Caldwell. "I asked the two of you to be here because of your unique experience with the Goa'uld."

Anna sat up straight at that. Less than two days after revealing that she'd been a host to a Goa'uld, she was asked for information. Caldwell shifted in his seat beside her, clearly not comfortable with the conversation.

Weir continued, "Brandt doesn't know much about the current situation beyond what we know, except that they're being hunted by worshippers of Nephthys."

Anna felt her face pale and knew the others had seen it. Evan moved quickly, his hand landing gently on her shoulder and traveling toward her neck in an effort to slow the tension that gathered there. Caldwell shifted again, this time to stare at her. Ronon's eyes narrowed, and the rest of the room straightened. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. After clearing her throat, she tried again, getting her voice to work on the third attempt. "That's a name I never wanted to hear again."

Evan continued to rub her shoulders discreetly. "That was your symbiote?"

"Yeah."

Weir dropped her chin for a moment and then raised her head. "I know this is hard, Dr. Travis, but we need as much information about Nephthys as possible."

Anna nodded even as she tried to assimilate this new information. Nephthys was still alive. She should have died after the Tok'ra extracted her. How had she survived? Who had rescued her? Was that person dead? The depth of her hatred surprised her in its strength. Discussing the Goa'uld in abstract was easy compared to sharing details of her greatest nightmare. She looked around the room, and her gaze collided with that of Colonel Caldwell. At least one person understood.

Clearing her throat, she started to speak. "Nephthys is the sister to Isis and Osiris." That announcement alone sent murmurs around the room. "While she claimed to be the mother of Anubis, no one really knows where she came from. Her name literally means 'Lady of the House,' but it is more accurately translated 'Lady of the Temple Enclosure.' She was a priestess for many years. When I was around," Anna paused to clear her throat of the panic that built there, "she allied herself with Ba'al."

Caldwell shook his head. "Great."

Sheppard glanced at Weir. "We should let the SGC know of this."

"I'll take care of that, Colonel." Weir looked at him and Lorne. "Right now, you and Major Lorne just bring our guys back home."

Sheppard and Evan nodded and stood. Anna held up a hand, stopping Evan. "One more thing." Her voice stopped Sheppard. "Nephthys always opposed Isis. She loved the death process. Probably one of the reasons she killed so many people." Her voice cracked. "If she takes you captive, she'll kill you for the sheer pleasure of watching you die. And she is obsessed with the ATA gene. If she knows that any of you have it, she'll take you hostage and kill you with her experiments if she doesn't plant a symbiote in you."

Sheppard stared at Evan for a moment and then nodded toward Anna. "Got it." As the two men left the room, he spoke, "Major, we leave in ten."

"Yes, Sir." Evan never glanced back.

Anna rose slowly, not really seeing the other two people left in the room. Atlantis no longer felt safe. Part of her reasoning for coming to the Pegasus galaxy had been to put as much distance as possible between her memories and herself. Now, the subject of her nightmares had found a way to Pegasus. And Evan was leaving to face someone who worshipped that subject.

Anna tried to put her mask back in place, but she couldn't quite manage. By accepting her as he had, Evan Lorne had become closer to her than anyone on Atlantis. It went deeper than just a physical attraction to a man. He truly cared, and she wondered if she'd managed to fall in love in the first month she spent on Atlantis. Even if that wasn't the case, someone she cared about had put his life on the line. Again. Could she handle allowing him to walk through the gate?

"Hey." Evan sounded rushed, and he grabbed her elbow to pull her into a small alcove. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She tried to smile bravely, but he saw through it. "This is your job."

He nodded. "It is."

Anna took a risk and put a hand on his chest. "Go. I'll be here when you get back. Just come back. Alive."

He grinned at that last comment, but someone cleared a throat behind her. Evan straightened, gave her arm one final squeeze, and left to finish preparing for his mission. Anna turned to face the person who had interrupted them and found herself face to face with Colonel Caldwell.

She straightened unconsciously at the thought that he had witnessed a private scene between her and Evan. "Colonel."

"Please." He snorted. "You're not military, so don't go acting like it."

His brash words put her at ease. She grinned. "Sorry. I'm around so many military personnel that it kind of rubs off."

He turned to look where Evan disappeared around a corner. "I've noticed." When she blushed and tensed, he grinned. "Relax. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." She resisted the urge to add "Sir" at the end of the statement. Unlike Sheppard, who was a friend, Caldwell commanded respect. He motioned for her to walk along the corridor and fell into step beside her.

"I wanted to introduce myself and let you know that I'm available if you need to talk." He eyed her. "Unlike most people here, I know _exactly_ what you're going through. It's not pretty."

"No, it's not." Anna suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "Most of them don't have a clue and end up saying stupid things."

"And the major?"

"Never even asked me about it. He didn't know until a few days ago." She filled him in on the events surrounding Ronon's near death. "I wasn't ready to tell him, but I didn't have a choice at the time."

Caldwell nodded. "I don't talk about it much, either. We had an incident shortly after my symbiote was removed that put me in command of Atlantis. McKay, especially, wasn't thrilled by that. Anyway, alien consciousnesses had taken over Weir and Sheppard much like the Goa'uld did to us. They understand perfectly, and it makes it easy to talk about in briefings."

She thought about that. "I wish I'd known. I wouldn't have been so closed with Colonel Sheppard."

"Yes, you would have." He narrowed his eyes. "You don't strike me as the type to open up to very many people. In fact, I think the only reason you opened up to Major Lorne is because you had to."

"Did you read my file, or is that conjecture?"

"I'm a commander of a starship, Doctor." Caldwell grinned again. "Reading people is one of my specialties."

"Nephthys wasn't placed in me by someone else." Anna glanced around and considered what she was about to say. She hadn't told Evan as much as she was about to tell Caldwell. "She found her way to earth and took my boyfriend before I knew him. Then, when we were by ourselves, she jumped into me. Her obsession with the ATA gene drove her to infiltrate the SGC. She would have got away, too, if not for an unforeseen off-world mission. Odds are good that she's still searching for a host that has the gene."

He put a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about the major. He knows how to handle himself in a fight."

"I know." She gave him a halfhearted smile and stopped outside her lab. "It's just harder to accept when I watch him go through the gate."

Caldwell nodded. "I've heard that before." He glanced around. "Your secrets, both of them, are safe with me. If you want to talk, I'll be around Atlantis for a while. We might be removing a number of symbiotes from their hosts soon. Hermiod has quite the touch when it comes to those things."

Anna thanked him with a nod and returned to her work. Evan's new mission had destroyed her concentration, however, and she struggled to reassemble it. If this relationship with Evan continued to develop the way she hoped it would, she needed to learn to deal with his absences and the inherent danger of his job. As it turned out, that was easier said than done. She left work on time, her stomach still tied in knots over Evan's absence and the revelation that Nephthys had come to Pegasus.

~TBC~

**Author's Note:** All the information on Nephthys was found on Wikipedia. She was an actual goddess in the Egyptian mythology, and the stories about her varied. Some of them said she killed Apophis, while others said she was the mother of Anubis. At times, she was portrayed as the wife of Set, also known as Seth, or as the wife of Osiris. All of them agreed that she was the sister of Isis and Osiris. She was also the goddess of night and lamentation, protector of the pharaohs, and a different reflection of the same thing that Isis represented. For the sake of my story-and due to the fact that Stargate writers altered the mythology for the Goa'uld-I only used what I wanted and took creative license with the mythology. As always, let me know what you think. ~lg


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **Contains extremely minor spoilers for "Sateda."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne set all thoughts of Anna aside as soon as he stepped through the gate. Up until that point, he'd worried if she would be okay when he left. Now, he left her in Colonel Caldwell's capable hands, knowing the Daedalus commander understood Anna's struggle better than anyone else.

_This planet must be getting old_, he mused as his team fanned out behind Sheppard. Ronon had been shot here, and Brandt's team was missing. Coming back for what amounted to the third time stung. It meant that they weren't as effective as they should have been on their first time visit.

They avoided the path to the village, choosing to allow Ronon to track the boot prints of Brandt and his team. The Satedan appeared calm, but Lorne knew he had to be angry beneath that patient hunter's exterior. That was one thing he admired about the big guy. When it came down to business, Ronon knew how to get the job done. And they had returned in the daytime, which made things somewhat easier. For now.

When Ronon growled, Lorne turned from where he covered the teams' six. "That good?"

"I lost them." Ronon knelt in the middle of a mud patch, glaring at the ground. "Their tracks were clear until now. There's so many, I don't know which ones to follow. One pair of prints leads back to the gate."

Sheppard looked around. "That must have been when Brandt radioed in to warn us. He said he was heading back for his team."

Ronon stood. "It looks like the tracks lead back to the village."

"En masse?" McKay asked.

"Yeah, en masse." Ronon glared as if the answer had been obvious. Lorne had to agree with him. "Sheppard, I don't think our men escaped this ambush without being hurt. But I don't see any signs of anyone being dragged away."

Lorne let his men continue the guard duty. "Which only means they were carried off, not dragged."

Sheppard nodded. "Lorne's right." He also eyed the terrain around them, which consisted of a stream and forest. "Okay. Let's go back to the village."

Lorne's team continued to watch the way they'd come, content to allow Sheppard to take the lead as they crept toward civilization. Lorne knew what that responsibility felt like. He'd hunted for Sheppard and the rest of them too many times to count. For now, he liked not being in command.

As they neared the village, things got hairy. Ronon whipped his head toward the west-or what Lorne figured to be the west-his gun out and already set to kill. Lorne and his men responded in kind, closing around Teyla and McKay even though those two had proven their worth in a fight long ago. McKay still managed to look frightened, and Teyla pushed her way out of the middle.

Sheppard joined Ronon. "What is it?"

"I heard something."

Lorne had learned to never underestimate Ronon's Spidey sense or hearing. His gaze went to the trees, and he noticed the way the branches moved. "Sir?" When Sheppard turned, he motioned with his eyes.

Sheppard understood. He touched Ronon and, with vague hand signals behind Ronon's and McKay's backs, gave them instructions. Lorne nodded again and spread the command to split up to his men. Just as he finished the command signals, a red beam jumped out of the forest. It missed him, but he dove anyway and landed hard on his shoulder. Seconds later, he came up firing his P90.

The fight was intense but quick. Ronon managed to take out two of the staff-wielding attackers, and Teyla finished off a third. Lorne and his men dispatched the other two, but not before one well-aimed blast grazed Reed's arm. Lorne pulled him out of the way before further damage was done.

Regrouping, Lorne pulled a pressure bandage from his TAC vest and wrapped it around the wound. He glanced at Sheppard. "We must be getting close."

"I agree."

"Close?" McKay had already started into his post-battle panic. "You call that close? I was almost incinerated."

"Yeah?" Lorne asked, a bit too irritated by Reed's injury to care about his tongue. "Then why don't you have a mark on you?"

"That doesn't matter." McKay held up a finger and would have continued, but Sheppard intervened.

"Let's get moving." Sheppard left the scientist gaping in the path.

Lorne followed the colonel, grateful that _someone_ could shut McKay up. He respected the scientist, but he didn't like him. A bit further down the path, Sheppard held up a fist, and the entourage paused. This time, McKay shared the middle with Reed. A few minutes later, Sheppard motioned them forward. They found Brandt's team inside a free-standing cage. A black man rose quickly. "Colonel Sheppard! Major Lorne!"

Sheppard walked over to them, clearly noticing the absence of Captain Brandt. "Sergeant, where's Brandt?"

"He was taken a few minutes ago by those wannabe Jaffa." Sergeant Gibson motioned further down along the path. "They said something about taking him to see his goddess."

Lorne straightened, and he stared at Sheppard. He could see that the colonel had the same thought. Brandt carried the ATA gene, and Nephthys must have discovered that. Lorne sighed. "Well, that answers that question."

"Yeah." Sheppard eyed him as if trying to figure out his thoughts. "No, Major, we're not trying to take Nephthys out. We're here to get our men back."

"I'm aware of that, Sir."

Ronon, however, had no qualms about questioning Sheppard. "That's never stopped you before." He motioned Gibson and the other two men away from the door of the cage and used his gun to blow the lock away.

"Right now, we're here to get Brandt." Sheppard thought for a moment. "Major, head back to the gate with your team and Brandt's men, here. We'll go find Brandt and try to get him out."

"Yes, Sir." Lorne accepted the order even though everything within him wanted to accompany Sheppard. Suddenly, Anna encroached on his mission. If they took out Nephthys, they could help Anna more than any psychologist ever would. Rather than argue, he motioned his men ahead of him. "Alright, let's go."

Sheppard stopped him briefly. "Hold down the fort at the gate. We'll radio you when we head your way."

"Yes, Sir," Lorne said again. Sheppard watched him go, impressed. The man never questioned the order even when Sheppard knew he probably wanted to go of the reservation and kill a certain snake. Then, again, Lorne had always been one of the most controlled men on the base. He suspected it would take something fairly severe to cause the major to lose control.

Their trip into the village passed in silence. None of the "wannabe Jaffa," as Gibson had called them, jumped out of the trees or from behind the homes in the village. Just past the village, however, an ancient castle hovered over an idyllic lake. To Sheppard's mind, it resembled pictures of Highland castles that Beckett liked to study. That castle would be the perfect place for Nephthys to set up her base while on this planet.

The castle even had a gate. Sheppard crouched behind a low wall, studying the way men patrolled the wall from above. While this planet still used bows and arrows, previous experience had taught Rodney just how much a pain in the rear that arrows could be. A few moments of study, however, revealed that only two men guarded the gate. Sheppard caught Ronon's eye and pointed to one man. Then, he set his P90 to shoot only once and abruptly took out the second guard. Ronon's blast sent the first man tumbling to his death.

"Let's go." Sheppard jumped up and ran to the wall, knowing the team was behind him. Just outside the gate, which remained open, he flattened himself to the wall. No guards patrolled the inside of the gate, leaving the castle open it infiltration. Nephthys must only visit occasionally, or she really didn't have a huge power base. Either way, it worked for Sheppard and his team.

Once inside, it was just a matter of following the creepy Goa'uld voice without being discovered. Upstairs, in what Sheppard would call the master suite, they saw light pouring out of the door. Leaving McKay and Teyla to cover their six, he and Ronon crept up the stairs and to the door.

The room glowed with an overabundance of candles. A woman draped in a see-through gown sauntered around Brandt, clearly examining him. She smiled at what she saw. "My Jaffa tell me that you have what I seek." Her voice echoed on the walls.

"I do?" Brandt tried to play dumb, but it didn't work.

The woman smiled seductively and began to run her hands over him. "Yes." She paused for dramatic effect, an overused tactic of the Goa'uld. "You see, I have been fascinated by your kind for many years. Your _abilities_ with this gene you carry could benefit me greatly."

"Gene?" Brandt was trying, but his voice had climbed an octave. Even though he probably didn't know Nephthys from Apophis, he still understood that a Goa'uld interested in his genes was a very bad thing.

The woman whirled. "Don't try to lie to me! I am Nephthys, your goddess." A moment later, she calmed and returned to running her hands over Brandt's shoulders, her body moving alluringly. "Join me." She smiled seductively into Brandt's face. "I can reward you in ways you can only imagine now."

Sheppard and Ronon exchanged glances, both sickened by the sight of a snake seducing one of their men no matter how attractive the host body. As Sheppard watched, he thought that the host resembled Anna. She had long dark hair like Anna, though the resemblance stopped there. Anna wasn't given to extravagant displays of her body the way this woman-snake-clearly was. He met Ronon's eyes again, this time giving him signals for taking out the guards in the room.

Before he could finish, the woman kissed Brandt. Sheppard cringed. What a position! The woman was beautiful, and any healthy man would find it difficult to refuse such a bold advance no matter what kind of creature lived inside the body. And Sheppard really didn't fancy watching one of his men play tonsil hockey with a Goa'uld. He raised his 9mm, trying to get a bead on the snake's head.

Brandt responded to the kiss momentarily, and that was all Nephthys needed. Both Brandt and the woman stiffened, and then the woman fell in a heap at his feet. He drew his shoulders up to his full height, held up his head haughtily, and examined his hands. Then, he stepped over the body of the woman, kicking it in contempt as he did so. "Get rid of it." His voice had changed, and Sheppard's heart sank. He lowered the 9mm as two men, unseen from the doorway, stepped forward to collect the body. As they did so, Brandt-Nephthys picked up a Goa'uld hand device and slipped his right arm into it. The orange gem at the center of it began to glow, and Brandt's eyes lit up with perverse pleasure.

He and Ronon didn't stick around to watch the disposal of the dead woman. Instead, they hurried downstairs and out the front door before Nephthys's guards figured out they were there. The ramifications of having a Goa'uld in one of Atlantis's soldier's heads ran through his mind as he hurried his team toward the gate. A short distance away, he touched his radio. "Major, dial it up."

"Yes, Sir." Lorne's voice came over the radio as the first staff weapon blast shot over their heads.

"Make it quick!" Sheppard turned to fire toward the origin of the blasts. "They know we're here!"

At the gate, Lorne stood next to the event horizon ushering his team and the remainder of Brandt's team through. Ronon, Teyla, and McKay ran through the wormhole, leaving Sheppard and Lorne on the planet.

Lorne eyed him as men ran from the trees. "Brandt?"

Sheppard shook his head just as they jumped through the wormhole.

~TBC~


	13. Chapter 13

Anna returned to work after her chat with Caldwell in something of a haze. She sat at her computer and stared at the screen, her hands moving mindlessly. Nephthys was alive. She should have been dead, never to torment another soul again. Instead, she had found her way into the Pegasus galaxy and somehow taken control of a planet.

Anna understood just how easy that would be. If Nephthys had been planted in a host she found suitable, she could pick any medieval society in the Pegasus galaxy, demonstrate a few "miraculous" healings, and get herself set up as a goddess. With her penchant for attractive women, she'd already posed as several different versions of a goddess of fertility. Not that she necessarily wanted to be known as such. She much preferred death and mayhem to fertility. The process a living creature went through as it died fascinated her to no end. Humans, especially, warranted close observation. Their process of "setting affairs in order" amused Nephthys.

"Hey." Rachel touched Anna's arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Anna shook her head. "Why?"

"Ever since you came back from whatever called you away, you've been out of it."

Anna smiled at the other woman. She wasn't fooled into thinking that Rachel had always liked her. In fact, Rachel gossiped more than anyone else in this lab. She also had a thing for Lorne. Rather than reveal why she was so concerned, Anna merely shrugged. "I don't know. I've got a bit of a headache, and I feel like I'm thinking through a fog."

Rachel accepted that and went back to her work.

Anna continued to stare at her computer screen. She felt like she was _living_ in a fog. The news that Nephthys was still alive shook the very foundation of her existence on Atlantis. Then, on the heels of that news, Evan left to rescue some of Atlantis's men from Nephthys. Anna wasn't angry at him for leaving. He was merely doing his job. She just worried about him. What if Nephthys captured him? What if she discovered that he carried the ATA gene?

Anna blinked at the screen, managing to push the fog aside for just a moment. Evan had the ATA gene? Somehow, in her shock-induced haze, she had called up a list of all Atlantis personnel who carried the ATA gene. The name "Evan Lorne" appeared just under "John Sheppard." She thought back to the times they'd spent together. He had never once operated anything that required the gene while she'd been around. Not even a Puddle Jumper. No wonder she didn't know.

She spent the remainder of the day comparing DNA strands and generally looking busy. By the end of the shift, Evan still had not returned, and she walked to her quarters in a vaguely dissatisfied mood. She figured she wouldn't relax until she knew he was back on base, but it bothered her anyway. Once in her room, she showered and changed, but her mind didn't settle as quickly as her turquoise dress settled around her ankles. Pulling on some strappy white sandals, Anna sat down at her piano and stared.

With Evan's painting hanging above her, she often liked to imagine that a part of him listened when she played. Now, nothing came. None of the music she loved would flow, and she couldn't seem to put the chords together. Too restless to sit, she jumped to her feet and walked to the window. Atlantis sparkled in the setting sun.

Some time later, an entry request jarred Anna from her thoughts. She opened her door and let out a small sigh of relief. "Teyla."

"Dr. Travis." Teyla stepped inside, looking tired. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Not at all." Anna motioned for her to make herself at home. If Teyla had returned, then that meant Evan had returned. Right? "How did the mission go?"

Teyla moved her head in such a way that indicated so-so. "Good. We recovered our men."

Anna let out a sigh as Teyla moved to study the painting above the piano. "That's good to hear." She silently prayed that the other woman wouldn't notice the discreet "E. Lorne" scrawled in lavender paint on the lower right-hand corner of the painting.

If she noticed, Teyla gave no indication. Her eyes went to the piano. "I do not believe I've seen a machine such as this before."

Anna smiled, relieved to be back on familiar footing. "It's a piano, another musical instrument."

"It is?"

"Yes." Anna moved to sit down and turned it on. A few minutes later, she played the opening chords to Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turka."

Teyla smiled at the playful melody. "Perhaps you could play the entire piece for me sometime."

"I'd like that."

"I should go." Teyla headed for the door. "I wanted to let you know that we had returned safely."

"Thank you." Anna watched her leave from her place at the piano. Just knowing that Evan was back was great, but seeing him would make the day that much better. When he didn't appear in the few moments following Teyla's departure, she returned to playing the Mozart piece in an attempt to find something to celebrate. Atlantis's men had been recovered. That was good. Wasn't it?

Before long, she found her fingers straying from the melody of the sheet music and finding their way across the keyboard. The pace of the music slowed, and the theme became dark. Haunting. Anna briefly thought about Evan's suggestion that she write a musical journal but dismissed it. Not tonight. Tonight was for honest reflection and for waiting.

An hour later, another entry request pulled her from the music. Anna turned off the piano, grateful for a reason to be drawn away. In truth, the music and honest reflection had depressed her a bit, and she wanted to smile. She wanted her topsy-turvy emotions to find stable ground.

Evan stood outside her door, looking haggard and slightly angry. "Hey."

Anna smiled at him, grateful to see that he was okay. "Come in."

He stepped inside and looked around. His eyes paused briefly when he saw that she'd arranged her piano under his painting, but he didn't comment.

Anna suddenly understood why he had come. "What happened?"

He whirled. "Why do you ask that?"

"Teyla stopped by some time ago. She said you recovered our guys." Her eyes narrowed. "But that's not all that happened, is it?"

"No." He fell back on his matter-of-fact ways and met her eyes. "We lost Brandt."

"How?"

Evan shook his head and dropped into her couch. Anna watched him struggle, seeing the thoughts cross his face but not knowing how to interpret them. For the first time, she realized that her quiet friend wrestled with allowing others to see who he really was. She slowly sat on the couch next to him and took his hand.

He finally glanced at her. "Nephthys discovered that Brandt had the Ancient gene. She captured him and took him to her castle."

Anna's heart sank. "How bad was it?"

"Worse than you think." He squeezed her hand and tried to gently break the news to her. "Nephthys took him as her host."

Anna closed her eyes, memories of her time as Nephthys's host welling up inside. She had been young and naïve, an enthusiastic geneticist working on the greatest project the world never knew about. Brandt, however, was a trained military officer. He'd been in war and knew how to resist torture and interrogation techniques. The things Nephthys would force him to do caused Anna's experiences to pale in comparison.

Evan moved and slipped his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sat there, content to let the silence stretch. It had always characterized their relationship, and she saw no need to fill it with meaningless words. Tomorrow, there would be plenty of words spoken. Both she and Colonel Caldwell would probably be present to help devise a plan to free Brandt and keep Atlantis safe. For tonight, however, she sat on the couch next to Evan, taking comfort from his presence and listening to the silence.

~TBC~

**Author's Note:** A bit shorter than normal, but the characters needed this time. In particular, I felt that Anna needed to see Lorne when he was reeling from some sort of loss. This was going to be a part of Chapter 12, but the rescue and loss of Brandt just got too long. So, I made it into its own reactionary chapter. As always, let me know what you think. ~lg


	14. Chapter 14

Anna woke suddenly, as if she'd heard something that opened her eyes without warning. She pulled the blanket that had come off of her shoulders back up to her neck and rolled over. The clock said it was two in the morning. A few more hours of sleep shouldn't be impossible.

Memories of the dream returned, and Anna sat up with a sigh. Sleep would be impossible after that. Rather than complain, she rose and grabbed the robe that lay over the foot of her bed. She had dreamed of her time with Nephthys, but something else stuck in her mind. Something that could possibly help them. Sitting at her computer, she accessed the city's mainframe and began typing. Moments later, information cycled down the screen.

Anna hadn't read these files since coming to Atlantis. After getting settled, she had ended up in the cave with Lorne and his men, and the memories became too strong to risk studying this information. Now, however, she needed to. Time slipped away as she worked, and she was surprised when an entry request sounded.

Anna frowned as she went to answer the door. When had the sun risen? She hadn't been working all that long.

When she opened the door, Evan blinked at her. His gaze dropped to her attire, and Anna suddenly realized that she still wore the nightgown and robe from the night before. To his credit, Evan didn't stare long. "Ahh, you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you didn't show up to run, and you were supposed to be in a briefing ten minutes ago." He looked away from her, clearly not comfortable with her appearance. "We tried to radio you, but. . . ."

"Briefing?" Anna turned to look at the clock and stifled a curse. "Oh, great! Sorry. Just. . . Give me a few minutes." She left Lorne standing in the open door and grabbed a uniform from the closet. Then, she ducked into the bathroom to change.

How had she forgotten to put her radio on? Anna berated herself as she quickly changed into her Atlantis uniform and brushed her hair. She didn't like to go to work with her hair around her shoulders, so she braided it down her back. It would work. After running a quick brush over her teeth, she returned to the main room of her quarters to find Evan standing at the window. He seemed so natural there, and his face relaxed slightly when she appeared. She began talking as soon as she saw him. "I'm so sorry. I was working and just lost track of time. But I think I have an idea that will work. I hope so, anyway."

He grinned and held up a hand to stop the flood of apologies. "You got me out of hearing McKay and Zelenka argue over the best way to keep Brandt out of Atlantis. I should be thanking you."

Anna grinned at him. Somehow, he put her at ease even though she knew arriving to a briefing late was not fashionable. She saved the information she'd been working on to a file on her laptop and headed out the door with the computer under her arm. Lorne walked beside her and touched her back when they came to the transporter. Anna's smile widened. The small gesture warmed her heart even though she knew it was probably habit.

McKay could be heard from the control room. "Oh, you think so? Hmmm?"

"Yes, I do." Zelenka gave as good as he got. "You just don't want to listen to anyone other than yourself for two seconds."

Anna stepped into the briefing room and looked around. Weir, Sheppard, Caldwell, Ronon, and Teyla all listened wearily as the two scientists argued. Evan returned to the chair he'd recently vacated, leaving Anna to take one across the room.

Weir turned to her. "Dr. Travis, I hope you are okay."

Anna flushed and slipped around McKay to settle next to Caldwell. "I'm fine. I was working and lost track of time. But, I think I have a solution."

Weir turned all of her attention toward Anna, clearly tired of the argument between McKay and Zelenka. "Tell us about it."

"I came to Atlantis to study the ATA gene and how to make it more widely available to our personnel." She glanced to where McKay and Zelenka took a seat rather sheepishly. "But, since Nephthys is obsessed with it and already has a host with the ATA gene, she's going to be even more dangerous."

McKay leaned forward. "We've already established that, and we've taken precautions. The city is cloaked, and we've locked Brandt's IDT from the system."

Anna moved slightly and met McKay's eyes. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't have done that. But, think about something: All Nephthys has to do is get her-his hands on an Ancient ship, and then she-he'll be able to come to Atlantis. With the ATA gene from Brandt, the technology won't be difficult to operate. Brandt's knowledge of Atlantis' location will keep her from being fooled by the city's cloak." She turned back to Weir. "No, we have to find a way to _disable_ Nephthys's ability to use Ancient technology."

McKay piped up. "That's what we were discussing when you so rudely interrupted. See, I think we can write a program that would lock out Brandt's genetic code from accessing Atlantis's computer systems."

Anna shook her head. "That's where you're wrong. Yes, you could lock Brandt's genetic code out of Atlantis's computer systems. But what if we free him from Nephthys? What then? You'll have to write a computer program to reverse it. The solution is much simpler and still leaves Captain Brandt able to remain on Atlantis."

"Oh, yeah? And what is that?" McKay had obviously had enough with people contradicting his work.

Anna smiled at him. "We disable his ATA gene. It's why Nephthys took him in the first place. If we take away his ability to use Ancient technology, then we not only protect Atlantis. We prevent him from using _any _kind of Ancient tech, and that includes ships."

The room fell silent at the implications of that. Finally, Evan stirred. "Is that even possible?"

"For you or Colonel Sheppard, no." Anna had no qualms discussing this here. "You two, along with several other personnel, have the Ancient gene naturally. But Brandt received the gene therapy. And, with that therapy, there may be a way to render that part of his DNA inoperable."

Sheppard held up a hand. "Wait just a minute. What about Brandt? If this works, we're taking away a big portion of why he's on Atlantis."

Next to her, Caldwell shifted. "If it were me, Colonel, I wouldn't care."

"Think about it," Anna continued. "He's currently living as a slave in his own body to a snake who will use his ATA gene to destroy everything he holds dear. I know. I've been there. I can't say exactly how he'll react to losing the ATA gene, but he'll be free and able to make his own decisions. The thing we have to remember is that, while that is Brandt's body and we want to save him, Nephthys is controlling his body and very much a threat to us. We need to do what we can to neutralize the threat while still preserving as much of Captain Brandt as possible."

Weir, who had been listening up until this point, leaned forward. "Assuming you find a way to undo the gene therapy, how would you deliver it?"

"The same way that the original therapy was delivered." Anna met her eyes. "And therein is the danger. In order to deliver the therapy, it will have to be an injection. While Colonel Sheppard or Ev-Major Lorne could deliver it, they would be in even more danger because of their Ancient gene. The person who delivers the therapy will have to be someone without the gene so that Nephthys doesn't leave Brandt dead while she jumps into a more powerful host." As she spoke, she felt her face flush and hoped no one else noticed how she'd slipped in speaking about Evan. Then, she drew a deep breath. "If no one else is available, I'll deliver the injection."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne sat across from Anna, staring at her as if she'd suddenly gone insane. He knew he had heard her correctly, but he hoped that she would take the words back. She didn't.

From somewhere seemingly far away, Caldwell spoke up. "This is all well and good, but we need some way to combat Nephthys _now_, not in a month. By then, she'll have gained enough of a foothold to be a major player. We do not need that with the Wraith still around."

Anna sat back in her chair, and Lorne stared at her. Just what was she thinking? Or was she even really thinking at all? Nephthys was her greatest nightmare, and she had just volunteered to face her alone. If Anna had been a suitable host a year ago, what made her think she wouldn't be a suitable host now? She should know better. She should just stay here on Atlantis where she belonged, not off on another planet risking her life to keep him safe.

She suddenly looked across the room at him and met his eyes. Who was he kidding? He more than liked her. He wasn't just a friend to her. Not anymore. They had crossed that line days ago. It was his job to keep her safe, not the other way around.

"My ship took a bit of damage on the way here," Caldwell said as Lorne tuned back in to the conversation. "The repairs are minor, but they'll take time. A trip to Jeneb will be out of the picture for the next week or two."

Lorne blinked. When had the conversation turned to Jeneb? Rather than ask, he sat back in his chair as if he'd been paying attention the entire time. Besides, he needed time to think. Time to ask Anna what she'd been thinking.

Weir nodded at Caldwell's words. "Well, until then, we work the way the SGC did when they first encountered the Goa'uld. Nephthys is still trying to establish her power base. We destroy that and free the people she's implanted with Goa'uld symbiotes. With the knowledge we have now, we shouldn't have as much trouble as the SGC did in the early days." She turned to the men on her right. "Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne, much of that job is going to fall to you and your teams."

"We can handle it," Sheppard said confidently. "Like you said, we know how they think and act now. We're ahead of the learning curve."

Caldwell opened his mouth as if to say something, but he stopped and looked rather sharply at Anna. On the other side of her, Zelenka also stared. She flushed, and Lorne buried the grin that tried to escape. She looked rather pretty when she flushed, and he wondered what had happened.

"Sorry." She glanced around sheepishly. "I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. I missed breakfast this morning because I was working."

McKay harrumphed. "That sounds familiar."

Weir nodded sympathetically. "I understand. Is there anything else?"

Everyone stood, anticipating the end of the briefing. When no one else spoke, Caldwell headed for the door. "I'm going to check the status of repairs on Daedalus." He turned with a mischievous expression on his face. "Major Lorne, see that the good doctor gets fed."

Anna buried her face in her hands, but Lorne still saw the red that crept up her neck. Beside him, Sheppard made a noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and a laugh. He ignored his CO and didn't quite bury the grin that crossed is face. "Yes, Sir."

~TBC~

**Author's Note: **I took a little liberty with the canon here concerning the ATA gene. I've read in several places that Lorne had the gene naturally and that he got the therapy. I'm not really sure which one it is, so I'm saying that he is a natural carrier of the ATA gene for the sake of this story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let me know what you think. ~lg


	15. Chapter 15

Anna followed Evan from the briefing room, wondering if it was possible for Atlantis's transporters to beam her into an unused section of the city for the foreseeable future. Not that she'd want to be trapped like that forever. However, she did want some time to live down the embarrassment of Colonel Caldwell's teasing comment.

Evan didn't speak as they entered the transporter, and Anna frowned. Had Caldwell angered him as much as he had embarrassed Anna? She didn't think so. The dark look on Evan's face wasn't due to a teasing comment. He was capable of holding his own in any kind of argument. This went deeper.

Rather than telling her what it was about, he began gathering lunch items and stuffing them into a box. She stopped him. "The mess hall is fine."

He looked around and shook his head. "No, it's not. We need to talk."

"Oh." Anna let him finish what he was doing and followed him from the mess hall. He was angry at her. What had she done wrong? For the first time in their relationship, she caught a glimpse of his darker side. By the time they gained a private balcony, her stomach had managed to produce so many knots that she was no longer hungry.

Evan whirled as soon as he set down the box with their lunch. "Just what were you thinking?"

She blinked. "About what?"

"Nephthys and the ATA gene."

"I know taking the gene from Brandt isn't the ideal solution, but it's all we've got. After all, Brandt knows about Atlantis and knows our location." She shrugged. "I'm sorry it has to come at the expense of one of your men."

"I'm not talking about taking the gene from Brandt." He drew himself up to his full height, and Anna suddenly realized what his subordinate officers felt when faced by Major Lorne. He wasn't the biggest guy on Atlantis, only five-feet-nine inches tall. But, he knew how to project an air of intimidation, and he was the second highest ranking military officer on Atlantis. That spoke loudly about his military career. Standing with his hands on his hips, he continued, "What possessed you to volunteer for such a dangerous mission as delivering the ATA retrovirus-or whatever- to Nephthys? Don't you understand the implications if you fail?"

"Better than you do." She suddenly found herself growing angry at him. "You weren't the one who lived with her in your head for a year. _I _was. _I _know and understand what she can do to me if she ever gets in my head again. Give me a little credit for having thought this through!"

"Did you think this through? Because it seemed rather impulsive to me."

"And just what do you know about what I've done with my day?" Anna folded her arms across her chest. "I have been up since _two a.m._ working on this retrovirus, as you call it. I spent _six hours_ at my desk before you showed up! I had plenty of time to think about all the implications of this plan. _All_ the implications. Nephthys is obsessed, and she'll do anything to get her hands on the ATA gene. It's her way to a hok'taur, an advanced host. If you or anyone else with the gene gets close to her before we're able to deliver the retrovirus, she'll jump. And I can't stand the thought that she might. . . ." Her voice trailed off as she realized what she'd been about to say. She cleared her throat. "I can't ask you to do that."

Evan softened visibly. He dropped his hands from his hips and rubbed his eyes. "You don't have to put your life on the line to protect me."

"Isn't that what you do every day?" Anna asked softly.

The words found their mark. He narrowed his eyes briefly, and then he stepped closer to her. He touched her face, his fingers tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Just don't forget that you have people here who care about you."

Anna smiled and found that she couldn't hold his gaze any longer. Evan may have been a master at controlling his expression, but he was intense when he let those guards down. She looked down and let out a grateful sigh of relief when he moved to pull their lunch from the box. She needed the distance. Jim Barringer hadn't stirred such emotions in her. He had made her feel special only when he wanted something from her, but he had not made her feel priceless in his anger. When he became angry, she normally left and didn't talk to him for several days. Then, once he'd recovered from his anger, he often left her with the feeling that it had been her fault. Of course, Nephthys had controlled him, but that didn't matter. The only real relationship she'd had with a man had been with Jim.

Evan was different. Anna knew this the moment he sat beside her in that cave. She'd been slightly intrigued by his silence and the fact that he never asked her any questions. Now, his anger intrigued her, primarily because he cared enough to be concerned about her safety.

Anna took her lunch and settled into a corner of the balcony. Evan had chosen an isolated location, and she was grateful for that as well. She didn't want anyone to interrupt this time. After making sure she had everything she needed, Evan settled next to her. She grinned and leaned her shoulder against his. "Thanks."

He looked at her, surprised. "Why?"

"For being upset at me."

His expression went from surprised to confused. "You're glad I was upset at you?"

"It means you care." She worked to keep the blush from her face and didn't quite succeed.

He leaned toward her, invading her personal space with a grin. "You look great in that color."

The comment only served to deepen the blush, and Evan laughed. As he went back to studying the horizon and eating lunch, Anna also grinned. He might be overprotective of her, but it was worth it. _Yes,_ she thought, _this is nice. I could get used to this._ As they ate in silence, she decided that she wanted this relationship with Evan Lorne to last.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

It took a month to perfect the ATA retrovirus. Beckett was the first person that Anna recruited for the task, and he objected to her use of the word "retrovirus." After all, that wasn't the appropriate term. When he discovered that Major Lorne had named it, the title stuck. Rodney tried to argue, but Beckett overrode him.

During that month, Anna barely saw her quarters. She spent so much time in her lab that Evan began showing up to take her to dinner. They always sat in the mess hall, but the truth was out. They were officially considered a couple now. Rachel Harrison glared at her for a week and then settled into her role of assistant. Anna understood. If she'd been in the other woman's shoes, she would have done the same thing.

For his part, Evan spent the month going out on almost nonstop missions. He always found Anna as soon as he got back to let her know he was okay. At first, the post-mission visit to her lab had embarrassed her, but Rachel quickly put her at ease. The other scientist had commented that it must be nice to have someone like the major checking in when he got home. Anna didn't try to reason out just what that meant for the future. She resigned herself to enjoying this wonderful new habit.

The month wasn't without its hardships. Once, Sheppard's team got pinned down, and Sheppard and McKay were captured. Evan was pulled away from a rare evening with Anna to rescue them. Ronon and Teyla accompanied his team, and they arrived just before Nephthys's forces. As they left the prison area, Nephthys appeared and ordered his Jaffa to search the woods for the prisoners. The two teams barely made it back through the gate, and the sound of Jaffa bouncing off of the gate shield caused one of the new control techs to pale. Chuck just shut down the gate with a jaded expression. He'd seen it happen too many times.

Finally, Beckett and Anna ran enough simulations to call a briefing. Caldwell, who was out on assignment, appeared via video link. Everyone else, however, made their way to the briefing room.

Anna stood nervously at the front of the room. Beckett insisted that she give the briefing, and she wasn't sure she was ready for this. The retrovirus was untested, and they had no idea how it would react to widespread use. After everyone settled in their seat, Anna began. "Thanks for coming."

Sheppard grinned at her. "Wouldn't be anywhere else."

Rather than giving him a smart remark about his obvious dislike of briefings, she shared an amused look with Evan and turned to Weir and Caldwell. "Dr. Beckett and I have finalized our retrovirus, and we believe it's ready for human testing."

McKay groaned. "Again with the retrovirus."

Anna ignored him. "As you know, there's only so much that a computer simulation can tell us. But, after all this time, we've managed to come up with something that works ninety-five percent of the time."

Weir leaned forward. "And the other five percent of the time?"

"It kills the patient." Anna shrugged. "The ATA gene therapy wasn't created to be undone, and Dr. Beckett did a wonderful job. But, there's a risk involved no matter how it reacts to Captain Brandt's nervous system."

Evan stirred, having stayed a little more involved in the retrovirus development than the rest of them. "There's another problem. We have to find an opening in Nephthys's armor. By this time, he knows someone out there is after him, and he's taken all those precautions. He may not even come to the planet we sent the retrovirus to."

Anna nodded. "Which is why we have to deliver it to him." After a month, she'd finally become accustomed to the idea that Nephthys lived in a man's body.

Caldwell finished signing a report someone on his ship gave him and turned back to the screen. "And how would you propose doing that, Dr. Travis? Like Major Lorne said, Nephthys has fortified himself now."

"We send someone in." Anna said it as if she'd given this the greatest amount of thought. And she had. During the last month, while her relationship with Evan continued to deepen, she never lost sight of her willingness to protect him with whatever she had at her fingertips. "As I said a month ago, I'll go. I'm attractive bait for Nephthys given my knowledge of genetics. Not to mention the retribution. I'm the one that got away."

True to form, Evan began to scowl. "What happens if he captures you? Then we'd have two of Atlantis's personnel in the hands of a Goa'uld."

"He's right, Doctor," Caldwell agreed. "We can't let anyone, especially not you, fall into the hands of that snake. You know too much about the ATA gene."

Anna stared at Caldwell and then at Evan. She'd expected Evan's objections, but she hadn't expected Caldwell to agree with him. In the last month, Caldwell had become something of a father figure to her. She respected him for his position in the Air Force and his command of the Daedalus. She liked him because he understood what she went through with Nephthys. Having Caldwell disagree with her took some of her bravado away. She shrugged. "Then, you make sure I don't get captured. Not in the sense you think. I might have to be captured in order to deliver the retrovirus. But, we can have men available to get me and a team out."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows. "A team?"

"Yes, Sir." Anna heard Evan's influence on her in that statement and buried a grin. "If Nephthys thinks I'm vulnerable, he will try to take me. As Colonel Caldwell said, I'm too valuable to him. So, we make sure that a team of Marines without the ATA gene are with me, and trick Nephthys into thinking I'm not as protected as I could be. There are any number of suitable worlds where we could set up a research station."

"You're a geneticist," Sheppard pointed out. "Not a botanist or archaeologist. You have to have a good enough reason to get off world before I'll agree."

"Bringing down Nephthys isn't a good enough reason?" Beckett asked. "Colonel, we have a number of planets where we lend a hand monthly. I have two planets that I need to head out to just to check and make sure the people there are healthy."

Sheppard held up a hand. "I am _not_ authorizing this galaxy's two experts on the ATA gene for this mission."

"I understand that," Beckett continued. "But, Anna is a geneticist. She understands enough to get by as a doctor checking these people. She lent a hand often enough in the infirmary. And, besides, these check-ins are to make sure everyone is healthy. Not to treat the sick. We only need a ruse, not a viable reason."

Sheppard fell silent as he thought about it, and Anna held her breath as she waited. She knew Evan would blast her for what she'd just done, but she _needed_ to do this. She'd put off confronting Nephthys long enough. Finally, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Sir, please."

Sheppard looked at Weir. "Elizabeth?"

"I see both sides," Weir said. "I understand your objections, Major Lorne, but we need to take Nephthys out. None of our intelligence indicates that we'll get an opportunity without a ruse of some kind. And Dr. Travis knows this particular enemy. Better than any of us, no matter the strategies we study. If I were to send someone into a stronghold, I'd send the person who knows the enemy the most. And, for this mission, that's Dr. Travis.

"However," she continued, "we need to make sure Dr. Travis comes back. John, that'll be your job. Decide on the Marines she'll take with her and then follow them discreetly." She sat back. "Alright. You have a go."

~TBC~


	16. Chapter 16

As soon as the briefing broke up, Lorne followed Anna from the conference room. She kept her back straight, but he knew her well enough to see that she was scared. Absolutely shaking-in-her-boots scared. As much as her involvement angered him, her willingness to volunteer in spite of her fear made him proud.

By the time they gained the armory, Sheppard had assembled the three Marines that would accompany Anna. Lorne kept his mouth shut and merely found gear for her. She donned the TAC vest without a word and followed him from the room. Beckett met her in the infirmary and gave her a medical pack as well as a few other pieces of equipment. When the doc left them alone, Lorne pulled the curtains around the bed and faced Anna.

She looked so different from the woman he knew. Rather than the elegant scientist that lived her life peacefully, she resembled a soldier now. The TAC vest with all of its pockets hid her figure, and she'd pulled her gorgeous hair into a tight bun at the back of her head. Her mask, the one she used when they were first getting to know each other, had fallen into place. Part of him grieved that she'd been forced to change into this stranger.

He put his hands on her shoulders and, not satisfied with the contact, slid them up her neck to cradle her head. "Remember you have people here who care about you."

She smiled and wrapped her hands around his wrists.. "I know."

Suddenly, that wasn't enough. Lorne stared at her, trying to memorize her face. Just in case. Rather than dwelling on the thought, he figured he should finally let her know how he felt. He leaned in and kissed her, waiting for her to respond.

And, she did, though not like he was expecting. Anna's hands suddenly tightened, and she swayed slightly. While she returned the kiss, neither of them allowed it to get too passionate. This wasn't about passion. This was about a steady relationship that was strong enough to survive whatever would come their way.

When Lorne pulled away, Anna stayed close to him, her grip on his arms not loosening right away. He grinned at the realization that she'd gone weak in the knees and rubbed her face with his thumbs. "I love you."

She flushed and returned the grin. "I love you, too."

They spent a moment basking in the other's presence, and then Lorne let her go regretfully. He waited until she'd regained her composure and jerked back the curtain that had given them privacy. Beckett didn't give them a second glance. Anna walked out of the infirmary before him, and he trailed her all the way to the control room.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Sheppard waited in front of the Stargate with the three Marines he'd chosen for the mission. All of them knew the stakes, and all of them understood what _needed_ to happen and what _might_ happen. But, without a word, they also agreed to bring Anna Travis back safely. She was Major Lorne's girl, and that afforded her their protection.

The transporter opened, and Anna appeared, followed closely by Lorne. Sheppard studied the two. Lorne looked resigned and calm, but Sheppard wasn't fooled by the exterior. And Anna seemed different. Hard. Not the vulnerable scientist he knew. This version of her had tapped into the strength that surviving a Goa'uld such as Nephthys required, and she'd put it to good use.

"You're clear on your mission, Doc?" Sheppard wanted to minimize as many casualties as possible.

"Yes, Sir." Anna sounded so much like Lorne at that moment that Sheppard eyed the major over her shoulder. "Get in, get captured, get Nephthys, get rescued."

"Well said." Sheppard looked up into the control room "Dial it up."

Chuck began dialing as Anna joined the Marines in front of the gate. Sheppard watched as the team established a pecking order in those few moments. While she had the guts to face down Nephthys, Anna still wasn't military. Yet, she commanded respect. Her experiences commanded respect. As the gate established a wormhole, Sheppard cleared his throat. "Just. . .no heroics. Okay?"

Anna nodded once and spoke for all of her team. "Understood, Sir."

Sheppard studied her for a minute, praying that Elizabeth hadn't made the wrong choice in authorizing this mission. "Move out."

The Marines formed a protective circle around Anna and led her toward the gate. Just before she disappeared, however, she stopped and turned around. Sheppard almost spoke, but he realized that she wasn't asking a question. Her eyes were on Lorne, and she was speaking only to him at that moment. Rather than interrupt, Sheppard went to the control room and began organizing his end of the mission.

The gate disengaged moments later, and the control room fell into its normal chatter. To them, this was another important but normal mission. They didn't carry the weight that Sheppard and Lorne did. Anna was just another doctor on just another mission, and they couldn't know that Atlantis had taken a massive risk in sending her to face Nephthys. Sheppard preferred it that way. He finished giving orders and headed for the transporters.

"Sir." Lorne stopped in front of him, hands behind his back and chin high. "With all due respect, if you leave me behind, I _will_ go AWOL."

Sheppard blinked. When had Lorne strayed from the dutiful soldier and second-in-command that everyone knew? Then, he grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, Major."

"Thank you, Sir." Lorne followed him into the transporter.

Sheppard pressed the map on Atlantis and waited to speak until they appeared in the corridor leading to the armory. "Just invite me to the wedding."

"Planning on it, Sir." Lorne left Sheppard standing in the transporter, staring openmouthed behind him. He hadn't noticed a ring on Anna's finger when she left. When had Lorne moved from dating to marriage?

Sheppard finally followed, finding Lorne with his men in the armory. The major had erased all signs of worry from his face, and Sheppard understood. Lorne was a military man with years of experience. He was also one of the most controlled individuals on Atlantis. If anyone could handle allowing his girlfriend to be captured by a Goa'uld, it would be Evan Lorne.

Sheppard put the exchange out of his mind as he prepped and walked to the Jumper bay. Lorne followed behind, and the seven men and Teyla settled into their respective seats in the Puddle Jumper. Following this closely behind Anna's team risked an element of discovery, but it was necessary. If Nephthys showed up and captured Anna, they had to be in a position to follow her. With Jeneb's gate buried, the odds that a ship would appear increased exponentially.

On the other side of the wormhole, Sheppard cloaked the Jumper and headed for orbit. Rodney monitored Anna's subcutaneous tracker and actually stayed quiet, for a change. While his men lounged in the back of the Jumper, Lorne stood next to Ronon, the only sign of tension showing in the fist he kept clenched.

Once in orbit, McKay began scanning the surrounding area. "Aha!"

"I don't like the sound of that, Rodney." Sheppard brought up the HUD and blinked. A Goa'uld mothership orbited the planet. "Can they see us?"

"I don't think so."

"You don't _think_?"

"Well, they can't see their own ships when they're cloaked." McKay stared. "We've never had to face down a Goa'uld ship in a Puddle Jumper before."

"True." Sheppard circled the ship and found a spot. "Let's settle in, guys. It looks like it'll be a bit of a wait." He nudged the Jumper into a spot on the mothership and set it down gently. Then, he deployed drive pods and felt the Jumper lock in place. With a resigned sigh, he leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and decided to take a nap.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Anna tried to put Evan out of her mind when she stepped through the gate, but it wasn't that easy. Her lips still tingled at the thought of his kiss, and she tried not to flush. She wasn't a weak-in-the-knees kind of woman, yet that's exactly what happened when he kissed her. If it wasn't for her grip on his hands, she would have ended up on the floor. And his words. Anna knew she should focus on why she'd come to this planet, but she also knew she needed to reason out this new depth of emotion and. . . . Commitment? Had she really committed to Evan in those few moments? Without saying as much, she knew she had. For the last month, she had wondered how she would react when Evan decided to take their relationship past the distant "seeing each other" that it had been. Would she panic, thinking back to Jim Barringer and that horrifying experience? No, she hadn't panicked, but she hadn't been able to think, either. Jim Barringer hadn't entered her mind until _after_ she'd stepped through the Stargate.

As they neared the village, Anna closed her mind to thoughts of Evan. She understood the risks that this mission required, and she'd tried to tell him as much just before stepping through the Stargate. Now, it was time for her to trust Sheppard's plan as much as Evan had trusted her to stay safe.

"People from Atlantis!" The greeting brought her head around, and the Marines barely refrained from holding the village's representative at gunpoint. The man, dressed in medieval-style clothing, stared. "We were expecting Dr. Beckett."

Anna stepped forward. "Dr. Beckett was unable to come. Some things requiring his attention came up on Atlantis. I'm Dr. Travis-Anna, if you like. I work with Dr. Beckett."

"Oh." The man nodded, looking slightly crestfallen. He recovered nicely, though. "I am Morin, and I am glad you have come. We have been visited by a man who claims to have received power from a god. He will certainly want to meet the people from the city of the Ancients."

"Power from a god?" Anna glanced at the Marines with her and received a nod in reply. "Lead the way."

As they walked into the village, her heart pounded in her chest. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to face down Nephthys-if that's who was here. If it wasn't, she didn't know if she'd survive the trip to Jeneb. Nephthys knew her, no matter the body the snake inhabited. Nephthys understood the way Anna's mind worked and the weaknesses to exploit.

_Not anymore,_ her mind reminded her in Evan's voice. She could see his face, staring at her as if to remind her that she was a different woman than before. Nephthys couldn't know that her relationship with Evan had instilled strength and determination. Anna had a reason to return to Atlantis.

Morin stopped at a small house with a crowd gathered inside. Anna peeked in and tensed at what she saw. A man dressed in travel-stained robes held a Goa'uld healing device above the arm of a small child. She leaned toward Morin. "What happened?"

"He was playing near the river and fell." Morin shrugged. "His playmates said they heard a snap when he landed on his arm."

Anna winced. She'd busted an arm in the past, and she knew the pain involved. The healing device would minimize that pain and shorten recovery time considerably.

Finally, the man using the device sat back and made a show of presenting the boy's healed arm to the crowd. "See? Just as I have told you, I have also demonstrated. This is the power that Nephthys has given to me."

Anna tensed and kept herself in place as the man's eyes swept over the crowd. When he saw her, he rose and headed her way. "You are not of this world?"

Morin stepped forward. "No, my lord. She, and the men with her, are from the city of the Ancients."

For the first time in her life, Anna wanted to pound someone into the ground. Morin was merely doing his job, however, and she couldn't blame him for that. She could, however, bristle at the respect he paid to this snake.

The Goa'uld circle her, the Marines with her barely allowing him enough room. "You are a beautiful woman." He eyed the soldiers. "These are your guards?"

"Yes." Anna stared at him, forcing herself to keep her fear hidden. "And they will not hesitate to kill you should any harm come to me."

"Then you must be of importance if the people from the great city sent guards to protect you." He grinned condescendingly. "You will come with me."

One of the Marines stepped forward. "Not so fast."

With the speed that only a snake could have, the Goa'uld drew a zat and shot each of the Marines before they could get a shot off. He turned back to Anna and held the weapon under her chin. "You _will_ come with me. Now."

~TBC~


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note**: To Aya C, Thanks so much for your review. It means a lot to get a note from readers saying they like the story. All you who read but don't review, keep this in mind. It gives us writers a reason to write and keep the story flowing! ~lg

SGA SGA SGA SGA

The snake called for a few new Jaffa to escort Anna and the Marines to his ship in orbit. She wasn't surprised, and she wished she could establish some sort of radio contact with Sheppard and Evan. According to the plan, they should be waiting to follow this ship into hyperspace. But the Jaffa took her medical kit, radio, and the weapons she'd allowed herself to carry. The ATA retrovirus, however, was hidden in a secret pouch next to her skin. They didn't search her well enough to find it.

They were saving her for Nephthys. Anna knew this and tried to keep all signs of distress from her face. She'd learned a lot from Evan in the last month, and she tried to affect his nonchalance in the face of danger. She wasn't sure she managed it, but, as the Marines came to, she greeted them dispassionately.

Being ordered to take a dive for the sake of the mission had to grate on their nerves, Anna realized as the ship jumped into hyperspace. Their commander, a man who introduced himself as Major Daniels, eyed her. "You'll be fine, ma'am."

She chose to accept the reassurance rather than reminding the man that she knew Nephthys rather personally. "I know."

Silence descended as they waited, no one wanting to dwell on what their possible fate might be. Anna knew enough to know that Nephthys would keep Daniels and his men for the sake of breaking her will to survive, if the snake didn't implant her with another symbiote just to mine her mind for knowledge of the ATA gene. And that knowledge had grown. In the time that she had spent creating the ATA retrovirus, she had also discovered some things that might help her make the gene therapy available to more people. That knowledge could become a valuable bargaining chip.

Hours later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace, and another contingent of Jaffa came for Anna. They refused to allow the Marines to accompany her, and she gave Daniels what she hoped was a reassuring smile. This was part of the plan, after all. And, if Sheppard's part had gone according to plan, he and Evan were somewhere around here, just waiting for the opportunity to follow her. Rather than allowing her worry to show, she held her head high as the Jaffa escorted her to a set of transporter rings.

Once on the planet, Anna shook off the memories of the times she'd used the rings in the past and walked peacefully in the middle of the Jaffa. She might be scared out of her mind, but she decided to keep her head up. After all, if a team of Marines could allow themselves to be captured when they obviously could have taken their opponent, she could face Nephthys. She _needed_ to face Nephthys. As her relationship with Evan deepened, she had discovered this need to put her time as Nephthys's host in the past.

The palace Nephthys occupied wasn't one of typical Goa'uld design, although signs of Goa'uld occupation could be seen. But, this was different. Rather than gaudy gold with Egyptian hieroglyphs, this palace boasted a number of Ancient designs. Most of these had probably been discovered after Nephthys came to the Pegasus galaxy. Anna still wondered how the snake escaped the Tok'ra, but she didn't let that show. Instead, she kept her chin up and her back straight right up until the Jaffa presented her to a man dressed in a dashing black suit and cloak.

Nephthys turned, and his eyes lit at the sight of her. "A welcome sight." He folded his arms across his chest, his ribbon device catching the light of the candles around him. "Welcome, Anna, to my kingdom."

She didn't look at him.

He circled her, looking up and down her body. "You have changed in the last year."

"So have you," she returned. She couldn't help it. "I never knew you went for guys."

Nephthys laughed. "Yes, it is quite a change for me." He studied his hands as if he'd never seen them before. "But it is a change I enjoy. Jaffa!"

The men who brought her to this twisted throne room stepped forward and used their staff weapons to knock her to her knees. Nephthys grinned. "Better. So much better. Now, where were we?"

"I think you were about to tell me what a lucky girl I was to be brought to you," Anna said sarcastically. _This is part of the plan_, she told herself. _Just keep him talking until Sheppard and Evan show up. Then you can administer the retrovirus and go home._ Ironically, she didn't picture Earth when she thought of home.

Nephthys laughed again. "What changed you?" He returned to his seat on the dais in front of her. "I rather like this change."

"You would," Anna muttered.

"Yes, I believe you will do." He stood and motioned for a woman to carry a canister into the room. "How ironic is it, my dear, that you once served as my host? Now, you will become my queen."

SGA SGA SGA SGA

Lorne stirred when the Goa'uld ship dropped out of hyperspace. Sheppard, who had actually drifted to sleep, sat up suddenly and blinked. Lorne knew better than to interpret that as carelessness. Everyone in the Jumper understood the risk that Anna had taken, and all of them were committed to getting her back alive and _alone_. That last thought caused Lorne to clench his jaw in an attempt to remain calm in front of his men. He could come apart later, when he was alone.

Sheppard retracted the Jumper's drive pods and carefully left the Goa'uld ship behind. Then, they waited until McKay's computer beeped. "Okay," the scientist said. "They've taken her to the planet."

Sheppard didn't wait for anyone to speak to him. He plotted in the coordinates that McKay gave him and found a place to set the Jumper down. Then, he stood and collected his TAC vest and P90 from Teyla. "Two teams of four. Stay in stealth mode. Lorne, stay in constant contact. If you get the chance, _stun_ Nephthys. I want Brandt alive, if possible."

"Yes, Sir." Lorne checked the Beretta strapped to one leg and the taser strapped to the other. The last time the Atlantis expedition had faced down a snake, Sheppard had disabled the symbiote long enough for Caldwell to give them his command code. He hoped to do the same with Nephthys, though he wasn't above killing Brandt to rescue Anna. That thought should have disturbed him, but he refused to dwell on it. If Sheppard could kill his CO in an act of mercy, then he could kill a man under his command to save the woman he loved. Lorne pushed all other personal objections from his mind.

The two teams left the Jumper, and Lorne took point as they headed for Nephthys's castle. This one was different from the one where the snake had taken Brandt. From the way Sheppard described it, this palace was larger and a lot more ornate. The gaudy decorations typical of Goa'uld dwellings were absent, but there was plenty of bling to go around. Lorne ironically noted that, should all the Ancient artifacts on display come to life, he would likely be blinded by the brilliant light that usually accompanied them.

While Sheppard had assigned them to take the back door, they still encountered resistance first. A blast from a staff weapon bounced off of the wall next to his head, and Lorne dropped to one knee and returned fire. Two Jaffa fell, but two more took their place. Sheppard spoke through the radio, asking what had happened to stealth mode. "Sorry, Sir," Lorne said as he finished off another Jaffa. "They were guarding the back door."

"Sheppard." Ronon's voice came over the radio, and Lorne heard the tell-tale sounds of the Satedan's big gun firing at someone.

"Crap." Sheppard fired off a few rounds. "Lorne, find the doc."

As if he needed to be told that. He checked the device McKay had given him to track Anna's transmitter and motioned toward the right. His team followed, Reed and a Marine assigned for this mission dutifully ending any Jaffa who tried to follow. Lorne kept his P90 at the ready, his finger never far from the trigger. If the Daedalus hadn't been out on assignment, this would have been slightly easier. They could have waited for Anna to give an all clear and beamed her out. But, as it was, they had to search this palace room by room to find her.

Without warning, Lorne found a staircase leading up. He passed the information to Sheppard and started to climb. Most of the bottom level of this palace seemed to be servants quarters and barracks, anyway. The most likely chance of finding Nephthys would be to climb the stairs. Sheppard replied that he copied and would follow as soon as Ronon finished playing with the Jaffa.

Upstairs, they encountered even heavier resistance. But their efforts were rewarded. A Goa'uld, presumably Nephthys, screamed orders as Jaffa raced to barricade the intruders from their god. Lorne had no problem with clearing the path courtesy of his P90. He'd brought extra ammunition just for this task. The fallout would come, eventually. Right now, however, he focused on the mission.

When they reached the "throne room," Nephthys held Anna in front of him, and several Jaffa blocked their path. Reed and Coughlin eliminated them, freeing Lorne to face down a snake using the body of a former subordinate officer. Anna stared at him, her eyes filled with both relief and fear.

Nephthys snorted. "Is this all that Atlantis sends me? A mere messenger boy?" He readjusted Anna, betraying his knowledge of just how lethal Lorne could be. "I am not one to be trifled with."

"Really?" Lorne shrugged. "Because this is the first time I've ever met you." He was tempted to add that he'd never heard of Nephthys, but he couldn't do that to Anna. He respected her too much to make light of her experiences. "Quite honestly, I'm not too thrilled with you now that we've met."

"Insolence will get you nowhere." Nephthys tightened his grip on Anna's shoulders. "You, of all people, should know that, Major. You've faced us in the past."

Lorne nodded. "Yeah, and, if memory serves, my people won. Or did you not get the memo?" He noticed Anna's fingers working their way to the hidden retrovirus and knew that the task of keeping the snake occupied fell to him.

"You will regret your words, Major."

"Will I?" Lorne allowed a predatory smile to escape as Sheppard's voice in his ear told him they had the lower level secured. "Unless I'm mistaken, we have you surrounded, and your Jaffa are being defeated as we speak."

"I can at least kill Brandt and Travis."

"Yeah, but you won't." Lorne hoped his words came across as arrogance. "Brandt has the gene you crave, and Travis knows more about it than anyone in this galaxy. You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Nephthys drew himself up to his full height. "I am a god, Major. A god among men. I do _not_ bluff."

Still on her knees, Anna finally let out a slight chuckle. "There is a God, Nephthys." When her words distracted the snake, she plunged the unnoticed syringe into his leg. "You're not Him!"

Nephthys roared, releasing her and raising the ribbon device, it's jewel already glowing. "You will pay for your insolence!" he shouted.

The next few seconds passed in a blur. Anna ducked out of the way as Lorne pulled the taser. Coughlin shot the ribbon device-and Brandt's hand, preventing him from attacking them. And Lorne fired the taser, it's electrical shock knocking Nephthys to the ground. He let off for a moment, just enough to see if the snake would reestablish control. It did, and he repeated the procedure until Brandt finally fell unconscious.

With the threat neutralized, Lorne threw military protocol out the window. Sheppard ran into the room, having heard the shouting and come running. Reed and Coughlin secured Nephthys/Brandt and prepared to take him back to Atlantis. And Anna climbed to her feet, looking shell-shocked. Her eyes wandered from their captive to Lorne, and she nearly knocked him over as she threw herself into his arms.

The radio crackled to life at that moment. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Caldwell. I got word of your mission. Need a hand?"

Sheppard grinned slightly. "Yeah, we could use the help. Get our guys off that ship in orbit."

"Already done," Caldwell assured them. "How is Dr. Travis?"

Sheppard eyed the corner where Anna still hadn't let go of Lorne. "She's fine, Colonel. A little preoccupied, but otherwise okay."

"Good to hear."

"Listen, beam up everyone but my team. We'll return to the Jumper and meet you in orbit." When Caldwell agreed, he touched his ear. "Sheppard out."

Lorne released Anna, and she stepped back just as the world disappeared in a flash of white. Moments later, they stood on the command deck of the Daedalus, watching Anna's team of Marines gladly take Nephthys into custody. Caldwell watched him go. "The preparations for Nephthys's removal are already in the works. Brandt should be back to himself before we reach Atlantis." He turned to where Anna still held Lorne's hand. "You okay, Doctor?"

She smiled suddenly, and Lorne buried his grin. "Yeah, I am. Thank you, Colonel."

"Sir," Marks interrupted. "We've got Colonel Sheppard and the Jumper."

"Very well," Caldwell said as he returned to his seat. "Set course for Atlantis."

Lorne led Anna from the bridge, knowing that any number of briefings and possibly a trip to Earth were in their future. But that didn't matter now. She was alive, safe, and with him. As long as those three requirements were met, he would remain a happy man.


	18. Chapter 18

Shortly after her rescue and subsequent defeat of Nephthys, Anna again returned to Jeneb, this time through the Stargate. Once Atlantis freed the people from Nephthys's control, they gladly unburied their gate and opened negotiations with Evan. He accompanied Anna wherever she went, bringing amused smiles to everyone's faces. This was the first time they'd seen the unflappable major so completely taken with any woman. The rumor mill on Atlantis churned out new stories each day, and Anna had taken to laughing with Evan each evening over what they'd heard.

While they finally allowed the city to see their relationship, they still stayed very private. Their love life wasn't news to everyone, although the rumors liked to believe it was. Most of the women in Anna's lab believed the two lived together, and Anna didn't burst their bubble. For the time being, they maintained separate quarters while adjusting to their lives.

And what lives they were! Anna discovered Nephthys's research on the ATA gene shortly after their return to Jeneb, and Weir allowed her to copy the information onto a flash drive. The IOA wanted Brandt, Anna, and Evan to report for debriefing. They primarily wanted to cover their own backsides when they discovered that a Goa'uld had found Atlantis. During her time on Earth, Anna set up a lab at the SGC and spent hours studying Nephthys's research.

This time, the Tok'ra did kill Nephthys. Anna was there, holding Evan's hand as she tried to appear cold. But tears ran down her face as she finally released the terror left over from her ordeal as Nephthys's host. The Tok'ra didn't comment on her emotion, and Evan merely held her once they were back on Earth. She had faced her demon and won. It was more than could be said for others.

When she wasn't working on the ATA gene, Anna traveled to San Francisco. Evan introduced her to his mother, sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews. She laughed with his sister as he played football with his brother-in-law and nephews in the back yard. And she walked hand-in-hand with him along the beach, watching the sunset. While she missed Atlantis, she enjoyed these days to their fullest. Once they returned to the Pegasus galaxy, life would again speed up to the pace they'd endured for the last few months.

One day, Anna dragged Evan to a graveyard and stood over a headstone. Marie had deserved so much more than she'd been given. While he stood behind her, she knelt to place yellow roses on the grave. "I'm so sorry, Marie," she whispered, her tears falling silently. "You didn't deserve what she did to you. I'm sorry."

Evan let her kneel there for a time, a silent witness to her grief. Then, when she finally rose, he hugged her close. "You aren't responsible."

"I know." She smiled at him through her tears. "But she died thinking I killed her. I can't forget that."

"But you can forgive yourself and quit carrying the guilt." He rubbed her arms. "Marie deserves that much."

Anna nodded and disappeared to her room in the SGC for the rest of the day. While she didn't care if Evan saw her grief, this was something she had to do alone. This was part of her past that didn't include him. She had to bury this body by herself.

The next day, she returned to her lab more determined than ever. She no longer had any excuses to keep her from finishing the task that the SGC asked of her. She worked for a long time, skipping lunch and ignoring the tray that was delivered. Her memories of Nephthys had lost much of their edge, and she willingly mined them for the information she needed. Nephthys's files also aided her, and she smiled at the door as Evan walked in.

He stood across the table in front of her, dressed in civilian clothing for a change. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Anna blinked at him as she remembered. "Dinner? Oh, I am so sorry!"

He grinned suddenly. "You're wearing the same dumbfounded look you wore the day you hit on the idea for the ATA retrovirus. How can I be too upset?"

"Dumbfounded?" She shook her head. "I just spent the day doing incredibly complicated equations and, quite possibly, finding the solution to the ATA gene. I need to run some simulations tomorrow to be sure, but I think I might have found what I was looking for."

"Then, we can celebrate?" He pulled out his phone. "I'll call the restaurant and move our reservations."

Evan had made reservations? Anna didn't want to dwell on that and went to her room to prepare for their date. She pulled out the cream dress she wore the first time she played the piano for him and added a string of pearls to it. Her hair flowed around her shoulders, and, while it didn't take her long to prepare, she was happy with the result. He grinned and escorted her to his rental car.

At the restaurant, they dined on five-star cuisine and talked about nothing related to work. In the weeks on Earth, their relationship had deepened to the place where silence was communication. After dinner, Evan drove her to the apartment he kept in Colorado Springs. Anna followed him inside, surprised to find the military precision she'd expected to find in his quarters on Atlantis. Of course, he didn't live here but once a year, but that didn't matter. This was what people expected of a career Air Force major.

The apartment had a balcony, however, and an easel stood in a patch of moonlight, it's cover rippling in the slight breeze. Evan flipped on the lamp near the door and dropped his keys as he emptied his pocket. Anna frowned. He wasn't given to letting things slip like that, and she wondered if he was simply tired from all the meetings he'd been forced to attend. Thankfully, that was over. Their ship for Atlantis departed at noon the next day, and Anna couldn't wait to get back to Pegasus. Now that she'd truly buried Marie, she had nothing keeping her on Earth. She caught sight of a picture of Evan's family on his mantle. Well, nothing from _her_ past held her on Earth.

Evan moved to the balcony, and she followed him. He stood next to the draped easel, his hands in his pockets. "I wanted to show you this." He turned to the easel, his hands shaking ever so slightly as he removed the cover. "I painted this while we were back home."

Anna stared at her portrait, stunned by the artistry and how he had captured her likeness. She had never seen her face as she played the piano, but she knew she looked different. Everyone said she glowed. She never thought about it until now, and seeing Evan's perception of it took her breath away.

Then, he moved, and she blinked as he dropped to one knee. He produced a ring-large, but still very tasteful-and she threw herself into his arms before he could ask the question. "Yes!" She stayed there even as he laughed. Then, she pulled back. "But I'll let you ask if you want."

"No, that's okay." He grinned. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to get it out right anyway."

The next morning, she proudly wore her engagement ring to the farewell meeting they had with General O'Neill and Colonel Carter. O'Neill ribbed Evan about their relationship and secured an invitation to the wedding from them before allowing the Daedalus to beam them up. Caldwell raised his eyebrow but said nothing until that evening, when he found Anna hunched over a computer in the mess lab. He asked if she was happy, and she nodded. "Happier than I've ever been."

"Good." Caldwell nodded. "I'm glad you recovered."

Anna smiled, knowing he spoke about her ordeal with Nephthys. "I had good friends." She folded her hands under her chin, still trying to get accustomed to seeing the ring on her finger. "I do have a favor to ask, though."

Caldwell blinked. "If it's in my power, you have it."

"Walk me down the aisle."

For the first time in her life, Anna saw what Caldwell looked like when someone left him priceless. After a moment, he recovered. "I would be honored."

Life on Atlantis resumed a normal pace. She and Evan still maintained separate quarters, but Sheppard grinned when they returned. She later discovered that a pool regarding their relationship had been started, and Sheppard won. He shared some of the booty with Evan, who later confessed to bribing his CO.

Three days before their return trip to Earth for the wedding, Anna stood next to Beckett in the infirmary. Evan and Sheppard were also there. The time for human testing of her gene therapy had come, and she wanted to be the first to give it a try. Especially since the first round hadn't taken. She extended her arm for Beckett to administer the therapy and held Evan's gaze as it entered her bloodstream. She spent the next day feeling under the weather, but the therapy took. She activated several innocuous Ancient devices and got her first taste of flying the Puddle Jumpers just before gating back to Earth. O'Neill congratulated her and approved large-scale production of the gene therapy once several more rounds of testing had been completed.

Eighteen months after their first encounter in the cave, Evan and Anna were married by General Jack O'Neill on the beach of San Francisco Bay. Sheppard stood as Evan's best man, and Anna asked Teyla to be her maid of honor. As she walked down the aisle, she almost laughed at the sight of Ronon in a tux, but she saved her smile for her groom. Since some of the guests, including Evan's family, weren't in the know about the Stargate Program, O'Neill kept his comments about what they had faced to a minimum. Less than thirty minutes after Caldwell placed her hand in Evan's, O'Neill pronounced them husband and wife.

~TBC

**Author's Note: **Only the epilogue, and then this one will be finished. It's been quite an adventure for me! Now, it's time for the massive cliffhanger I've been promising some of you. (It's massive to me, anyway.) So, let me know what you think! ~lg


	19. Epilogue

The long-term effects of Anna's gene therapy weren't seen right away. She settled into the new, larger quarters that Sheppard assigned to her and Evan, happy to have a place to call _their_ home. After their wedding, the rumor mill found other topics more interesting, and Anna gratefully enjoyed how people became accustomed to seeing them together. The little signs of a healthy marriage-hand-holding, touches on the shoulder, his hand on her back as they went through a door-thrilled her as much as it raised only a few eyebrows. Evan's team welcomed her wholeheartedly, and Major Daniels talked of adding Anna to his off-world team. Evan put his foot down at that, and Anna told Daniels that she was content working on Atlantis. Her husband could have all the adventure.

After two years, they began discussing children. While they lived on Atlantis and never wanted to leave, that desire to produce offspring had finally gotten the better of Anna. She and Evan debated the merits for six months, finally settling on the compromise that, if she became pregnant, they would request a transfer back to Earth. Three years later, they sought the aid of Dr. Beckett as they had yet to have children. Beckett took a blood sample and asked for several days.

On the promised day, Beckett called them into his office. "Well, I know what's happened, but I don't know that it'll be any more comforting than the conventional reasons."

Anna's stomach clenched, and she slipped her hand into Evan's. "Just tell us, Doc." After five years of marriage, they sounded alike.

Beckett broke the news as gently as possible. "I'm afraid there's _nothing_ wrong with you, Anna." He eyed Evan. "Or you, Major. The issue seems to be in your genetic codes. Anna, according to my tests-and I've run them more than three times-your aging process has been slowed considerably."

"Aging process?" Evan asked.

Anna blinked. "That's a change to the base genetic code of a human being!" When Beckett nodded, she stared. "But the only gene therapy I've had was the ATA therapy I came up with five years ago."

"Aye." Beckett sighed. "I've already begun testing everyone who has ever had that particular therapy." Which was nearly the entire expedition. Shortly after the testing showed no negative results, General O'Neill okayed the inoculation of the entire Atlantis expedition who didn't have the ATA gene naturally or by Beckett's previous therapy.

Evan leaned forward, his mind still stuck on Beckett's previous statement. "Wait, you said _her_ aging process has been slowed. How slow is that?"

"I can't be certain, but I can tell you it's down to about a tenth of what it was before now." His announcement took their breath away. "I'm sorry."

Anna held up a hand. "Wait. You're telling me that, rather than living approximately eighty years, I'm going to live _eight hundred years_?"

Beckett didn't respond, the answer clearly written across his face. Shell-shocked, Evan and Anna made their way back to their quarters. The tears started shortly after the door closed behind them, and Evan spent the evening holding her. He didn't understand everything that she had endured, but he understood this one. She would have to watch him grow old and die. The gray had already begun creeping into his hair, and he knew that his years as a team leader on Atlantis were numbered. Anna's, however, weren't.

Late that night, Evan slipped out of their quarters as Anna slept. He walked to a nearby balcony and spent an hour debating his actions. Should he do what he was about to do? If so, he could be court-martialed and put in prison. If he didn't, his wife suffered for the rest of their marriage. Decision made, he headed for the infirmary.

Beckett met him at the door. "I was expecting you to return, Major."

"Doc, I can't do this." Evan ran a hand through his hair, uncharacteristically frantic. "I can't let her watch me die."

"I know, son." Beckett stuck his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "I'm truly sorry for the news I gave you today."

"There has to be a way."

"Aye, there is." Beckett looked around to see who was listening. "But I don't know what effect it'll have on your system since you already carry the ATA gene."

Evan stared. The doc had already come to the same conclusion he had, and he appreciated it. "I'm willing to take the risk."

"I knew you would be." Beckett pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "Just return in a week for me to run some tests on you."

As the therapy entered his bloodstream, Evan nodded his agreement. A week later, tests confirmed that his aging process had also slowed. The gene therapy sharpened is ability to use Ancient technology, but it didn't give him the level of control that Sheppard naturally commanded. That didn't bother him. His CO could control all of the Ancient tech he wanted. Evan didn't have to watch his wife grieve through the years of their marriage.

Anna was predictably furious with him, but she softened when he told her that he couldn't watch herself grieve for years. Sheppard, however, wasn't so forgiving. Even after Beckett presented his findings to O'Neill and Weir, Sheppard made sure Evan stayed in the dog house for a good long time. Trust was something to be earned, and Evan had stepped out of line.

When it became apparent that anyone with the new gene therapy would live stupidly long lives, the rest of the Atlantis expedition faced a choice. They could live natural lives or receive the new therapy. The next few years saw a lot of debate as the IOA realized that their control of Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy slipped between their fingers. This new therapy ensured that the IOA members were seen as a temporary irritation. Eventually, Sheppard forgave Evan and joined the ranks of those taking the new therapy. Production stopped, and incoming personnel received the original therapy. They would transfer back home in time.

Fifty years later, Evan and Anna buried his sister. They stood at the back of the crowd around the grave, faces obscured by the shadows of the trees. Their nephews still lived, but both boys had grown children. Due to their extended lifespan, Evan and Anna had stopped visiting Earth shortly after his mother's death. People asked too many questions since they obviously looked younger than they should have. Shortly after that, Evan and Anna officially went MIA. Neither of them liked the lies, but they couldn't subject his family to the pain of the truth. They would live longer than any of his sister's grandchildren. After the funeral, they closed out their lives on Earth and returned to the Pegasus galaxy for good.

Atlantis changed over time. Those who received the new therapy were given the choice of changing identities every twenty to thirty years or transferring to Atlantis, where everyone knew what was happening. Most of them moved to Atlantis, and the city filled up. Children now ran the corridors, not at all intimidated by soldiers rushing around with weapons at the ready. Everyone who lived there drilled for an invasion, and the children knew the dangers. Their parents had raised them to understand. Just like in war-torn countries, it became a way of life.

Evan received a promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel in time, and Sheppard jumped to full Colonel. General O'Neill and his new wife, former Colonel Samantha Carter, transferred to the Pegasus galaxy. They had both received the new therapy, and they treated their time in Atlantis as a sort of retirement. Sheppard and Weir remained in command, and O'Neill came out of retirement only for galaxy-transforming events. That didn't happen often.

One evening, as Anna walked the corridors searching for her daughter, she heard her name called. "Dr. Travis." A moment later, she heard it again. "Dr. Travis!"

She turned and stared. She hadn't been called Dr. Travis in so many years that it sounded foreign. Most of the city's residents called her Dr. Anna, so as not to confuse her with her husband, who remained simply "Lorne." A woman hurried to catch up, and Anna blinked in recognition. "Rachel Harrison! I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah." The other woman smiled. "It's been a few years."

Anna snorted at the understatement. "It has."

"How are things?"

"Good." She wasn't sure she wanted to discuss her marriage and family with a woman who once pined over Evan when they first got together. "I was headed up to the control room. Care to join me?"

"Sure." She looked around. "It's different, isn't it?"

"Very," Anna agreed wryly. She fell silent, however, when she saw the gate activate. They weren't expecting an update from Earth any time soon. The IOA had eventually taken over the SGC, and they dialed in occasionally to touch base. Those contacts had thinned down to once a year as time passed.

Today, however, an audio signal silenced the control room. "Atlantis Base, this is Stargate Command. Do not, I repeat, do _not_ send reinforcements through the gate. We are under attack at Cheyenne Mountain, and it is only a matter of time before we fail to defend the gate. We are at peace with this. The war that started a year ago has reached an impasse, and much of Earth has fallen victim to nuclear bombs." Shouts sounded in the background, someone screamed, and then the gate shut down.

Weir turned sharply. "Get that back open!"

Chuck seemed too shocked to move, so Evan rushed from his location at the back of the room to dial the gate. The seventh chevron failed to engage. After three attempts, he stepped back. "I can't do that, ma'am."

Weir stared. Anna waited while Evan returned to her side. All around her, faces fell as the implications hit home. Then, Weir looked to where Chuck had regained control. "Get in touch with Caldwell." She sighed. "I want him bound for Earth and ready to give me a full report."

Modifications to the hyperdrive over the years shortened the trip to Earth from three weeks down to a few days. Just over a week from that disastrous audio transmission, Caldwell, who had received the new therapy, returned with discouraging news. Earth's surface was covered with too much radiation. They could get no life sign readings, and no one answered their call.

Anna stood next to Evan on the day that Weir activated citywide communications.

"By now, you have all heard that we have lost contact with Earth." Weir's voice echoed through the halls of Atlantis. "While we do not know the exact nature of the conflict, we know that Earth was embroiled in a global war. The Daedalus has just returned and confirmed our worst suspicions. The nuclear fallout is too severe to allow human life to exist on the surface. We do not know how many-if any-survived the war." She drew in a deep breath, and her voice shook when she spoke again. "Atlantis, we are alone."

~TO BE CONTINUED~

**COMING SOON!**

Lantean Symphony II

Atlantis Interlude

First chapters should be up in one to two days!


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